Hellboy's Cat
by silverfox-k12
Summary: In a parallel Hellboy Universe where Liz isn't a part of the Story, Hellboy has a partner called Cat who helps him deal with mosters, mayhem and even some personal feelings.Rated R for violence,foul language and sexual content.Please R
1. meet the guys

Disclaimer: I do not own or have rights to any thing Hellboy, He is the property of the brilliant Mike Mignola. The only character I have sole custody over is Cat, whom is a figment of my twisted imagination.

There is nothing like a good fight to get the blood pumping threw my veins, or more accurately out of them. At the moment Hellboy, yes the big red monkey, is taking all the glory in fighting a demon with a bad attitude. Hellboy didn't want me to come with him today, but I didn't give him any choice in the matter. Being a red head and a bitch really is my best quality with dealing with the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy for that matter. At the moment I am content to let Red beat the crap out of the demon, I am more for the guns and knives in the dark approach personally. But stealth just isn't Red's style so I just sit back and watch the show until a new Nasty decides to come out and play.

The air whooshes behind me and I have time to get out my gun but not to aim. Something heavy with too many arms slams into my back with the takes me down to the stagnate dirt. I struggle against the heavy ,grasping stink of decayed flesh and bone. I feel claws drag threw the flesh of my back and I scream long and loud. I hear Red yell something at me but cant understand it. The gun in my hand is now pressed into the writhing creature above me and I pull the trigger. Blood and thicker things fall like a putrid rain as my home made ammo goes to work on the creature who is now screaming in a high pitched squeal. Shoving my way out from under the thing I end its sounds with a well placed bullet to the head, in like a penny out like a pizza.

Ahh, now I can rest or lay still and try and breath, or just lay still and not breath 'cause damn it hurts. Hellboy knows that I am down for the count and seems just a bit more pissy than usual. Yes, I am expecting a big 'I told you so' after this, I hate it when he's right. Hellboy dispatches the demon with a bit of a messy end of being torn apart, crude but effective and signature Hellboy.

Hellboy leans over me looking pissed and takes way the gun I don't realize that I'm still holding (just good survival tactics on both our parts). Red, damn him, looks no worse for wear after our little escapade, but then it is his job to kill the monsters and my job, well, is to just piss him off. Have I mentioned that I am very, very good at my job. Red puts his stone hand behind my back and I grit my teeth as he makes me sit up. I put my hand where the pain is and it comes back nice and bloody. Yea, more scars for the red head.

Red frowns and takes a look at the scratches on my back, four nice big claw marks against the line of my ribs.

"Damn Cat, that's got' a hurt," he says looking at me.

I give him a clinched tooth grin, cause I'm not about to be a girl and cry. "Aww, its not that bad, its just a scratch any way." Or at least I can pretend its just a scratch as long as I don't move.

The back wounds always hurt the worst because of the muscles.

Red smiles at me "Liar." and picks me up.

Against my better efforts a small pitiful noise escapes my throat. Hellboy isn't smiling now and brings his face very close to mine. Funny I never really noticed how many colors were in his eyes. Maybe its just the endorphins kicking in but the iris rimmed in yellow, gold, orange and red looked really pretty especially from about five inches away. 

"Ya' scared me Cat," Red said in his soft rumbling voice.

I think I smiled, "Just trying to return the favor, Red."

I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his heart beat, it was just a tad faster than usual; probably due to the fight. Carefully I just my arms around his neck, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it should, but I wasn't gonna' look a gift whatever in the mouth. My head rested just under his chin. I felt his face brush against my hair

"Why do ya' keep commin' with me kid," he asked in to my hair.

I tilted my head and rubbed my cheek against his jaw.

"Because you have pissed off or scared everyone else away," I inhaled the sent of him, " And your bullying doesn't work on me."

"Yeah," Red said gruffly and brushed his lips against my forehead.

A weird thought passed threw my head ;I looked up at Red feeling no pain and kissed him lightly. Red stopped walking and just looked at me for a moment.

Now I have to wonder if I have just screwed up royally and if I can just pass off kissing him as momentary insanity. I saw lots of things cross threw his multi-colored eyes, but his face stayed neutral. I didn't say anything, but in that moment I lost the need to as Hellboy leaned down and kissed me back softly as if he was just as unsure as I was. I parted my lips over his, feeling the different skin texture against mine. Red opened his mouth slightly as if to taste me. I inhaled his breath into me and let my tongue trace the curve of his lower lip. I felt him quiver and his grip on me tightened just a little. He let his tongue trace the slight part of my lips. Funny how such a small thing can make me feel so strange. Maybe my blood loss was getting to me, but at least I couldn't feel the pain at the moment, but I was feeling plenty else! I let my hands move along his shoulders to his massive neck up to his jaw to cup his face. He made my hands look so small against him. Of course I was just pretty damn small next to him any way. I'm sort even for a girl clocking in at 5'3" on a good day.

Hellboy let his tongue slid along mine as I opened my mouth more to accommodate him. He made a sound low in his throat and abruptly knelt down, I think so that he didn't drop me. Somehow I ended up straddling one of his legs. Hmmm, how interesting, Reds hands moved across my body; my hips, my neck, my face, my FUCK back. Yep, now I remember. I dig my fingers in to his shoulders and try really hard not to whimper. I herd Hellboy cursing to himself in Russian, something about being an asshole and careless bastard. But since my Russian isn't that great, I could be wrong. I put my hand on Reds face to make him look at me.

"I'll heal Red."

He turned his fire kissed eyes to me and touched my face with his stone hand only to draw back quickly. I felt something warm and sticky on my face, it took me a minute to realize that it was my own blood now covering my face. (Lucky Me) For some reason it struck me as funny, so I laughed; not a real laugh 'cause that would hurt like hell, but a sort of half laugh expelling short puffs of air. Even Hellboy started to smile a bit.

"Do ya' think you can help me get the hell out of here now? I want to see the sky."

Hellboy nodded. "Yeah, the boys might get worried and of course they are gonna' be pissed at you for getting hurt and at me for letting you." He picked me up again and out of the Darkness we went.

As predicted pandemonium hit when the crew saw me, they are used to me being the clean(er) one when we are done with a mission, and I can usually walk under my own power. Speaking of…

I whispered, "Red set me down, time to let them know I'm not dead."

He set me down, I grit my teeth and walked to the waiting car mostly unassisted.


	2. back trouble

Disclaimer: I own nothing ! Accept Cat that is, every one else I am just borrowing for a bit….

Back at Head Quarters:

"Oww Damn it!" I was laying on my stomach under the ministrations of Dr. Evans, who was currently probing the claw marks on my back. If I had been clawed by a wer- anything I would be turning fuzzy in a week. If it had been a ghoul of some sort that managed to Thwack me, well then I will just have a really nasty infection. Of course I didn't really get a good look at the thing, I just killed it.

Hellboy came in looking no worse for wear, the punk had already gotten to clean up. Me, I still looked like the Bride Of The Living Dead. But on the plus side, all the blood was dry and I wasn't ruining the furniture.

"Nice look Cat, we'll be ready to trick or treat in no time. Now it looks like I get to be the good looking' one since you are going sort of Frankenstein," he smirked.

I just growled something nasty at him in French. The pore Doc had to stop working on my back until he stopped laughing. He wiped a tear away and pointed a finger at Hellboy.

" When she is back up to par, Stay the hell out of her way!"

Red just shook his head. "I don't want to know what she said do I?"

The Doc just looked at me. I shrugged , cussed because it hurt to shrug and told him I didn't care. So the nice Dr. Evens simplified my inventive threat to ripping his tail off, beating him with it and then giving it to his kitties as a play thing. The Doc being the diplomatic sort, left out the more vivid details.

Hellboy just laughed at me and I just stayed pissed off. Where stitches would really suck right now the new adhesive gel they used instead is some seriously painful shit. And , did I mention it takes a while to dry, so should any one touch me in say the next hour or so I might just break my no crying rule. The Doc excused himself and Hellboy took the only stool, I obviously stayed on the table.

" I cleaned your guns for ya'," Hellboy held up my glocs in there holsters so I could see them as if they were a peace offering.

" I checked your ammo stash too, and its about time to make some more. So if you are feeling up to it later we can go down to the armory and piss off some people."

I smiled at the thought, both of us playing with volatile mixes that if a normal person got caught with, well it wouldn't be pretty.

"You know Red, you don't have to be nice to me just because I cant fight back yet." I rolled my eyes up to look at him.

"Nahh, I'd rather play nice for now and yell at you later. If I pissed you off now, it would just give you too much time to think of something really nasty to do to me later."

I grinned "True.. So do ya' think you could get some of this blood off my face? Since you are up to being so nice at the moment."

Red stood up, "Aww, but it brings out the color of your eyes so nicely."

"Fine," I sighed, "I'll do it my self later." I shut my eyes.

Of course the next thing I know a cool rag is being wiped across my face.

"Thanks Red," I whisper.

Red doesn't say anything but keeps cleaning my face. Now if only I could talk someone in to getting the blood out of my hair…Oh well its best not to push my luck any way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	3. cat's past

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! Well accept Cat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now some people might find it strange that I enjoy the company of a large red demon monkey with a lot of attitude and little else. But then, if I was at all normal I wouldn't be here now would I?

Somehow around the age of 13 or so I got passed over one too many times and slipped threw the cracks of civilization in to the darker levels of survival. I was the prey of the Underground and what a tasty little morsel I was then too. I learned fast and hard that to hide was to exist. I then learned how to watch and move silently threw the darkness that was always so close to me. I knew now that the monsters of bedtime stories were real and that mommy and daddy weren't going to save me.

I remember the exact moment when I went from just existing to being something in the dark. It was the day that I found an old folding razor on a body not long dead. I began to have an identity, I learned how to keep the razor sharp and how to used it. How to sneak up on things in the dark and kill them. Early on I stuck to killing lesser things that were close to human, but still not. The Things that thought I would taste good, were the things I killed.

Knives became my trademark. After a year in the dark they began calling me Kitty Cat because of my sharp little claws. I was Feral, as were all that survived down there. There were others like me, children of the Dark, some survived by becoming pets, most died with in the first week. The rest were food, I didn't know how to feel sorry for them. I could only keep my self alive for the night. I forgot the sound of my voice, sound carries too far in the darkness to talk.

By the time I was 15 or 16 I was becoming a hunter, not a profession for any one wishing to live threw the night. No, I had no such aspirations for life, I just wanted to get rid of as many of the bastards before they got me. I knew it would happen eventually and I wasn't too worried. Life in the dark is hell. No way around it, its life with out anything but coldness, fear and pain. I had survived almost 3 years like this and if I lived much longer I would become a monster in the dark. I didn't want my mind to be twisted, to be evil. No this little Cat was going to kill the Dragon in his den. The one who liked stealing children, the one who haunted my dreams at night… I had seen my prey before, he used to live off of the homeless and the hopeless, people like me.. But now he had refined his taste to younger flesh. I didn't know if this creature could die, only that I had to make the effort to kill him. That was the night I would meet Hellboy, much the same as his is now.

I was dressed for battle with some odd 20 knives give or take secreted on my person. And by knives I mean anything that could be used to cut something; slivers of glass, metal, razor blades, sharpened wood bits that I kept in my hair. And lots more odds and ends with sharp points that I could use.

At the layer of the Monster, small sounds from pitiful creatures assaulted my ears. He was feeding on and fucking the little thing under him. With very little thought I had lobbed 10 sharp objects in to the gray putrid mass of the Monster. It, He, roared and charged me. With a proper knife in each hand I let out my own sound and let him come.. The Monster hit me with the force of a train, tearing great gouges in my flesh. I bared my teeth in the semblance of a smile and sliced pieces of him off. He was much stronger than me though and soon threw me across the room to hit a stone wall. I managed to throw a knife that took him squarely in the chest, breaking ribs and spilling tissue.. I saw my death as I fumbled a wooden spike from my hair in hopes to take out one of his eyes before he could rip out my throat.

But death never came, blood did though and thicker things. I realized I couldn't hear due to a loud ringing in my ears. I later learned that it was a gun shot that made the noise that killed the Monster. I was back on my feet with my razor in hand when I saw the Red Demon. He was defiantly the scariest thing that I had ever seen because, he could kill with barely a thought. (So sue me I hadn't had much dealings with guns before) He of course put the gun away when he saw me, go figure, maybe I just wasn't scary enough for a gun. Granted, all he had to do to kill me was pummel me and I would have been about the consistency of a slightly squishy red smear…

I waited for the Red Demons attack but it never came. He simply hunched down, becoming smaller but no less menacing. Well, if he wasn't going to eat me, I would tend to the small mewling things… Children… I went to the huddle of small warm bodies who cringed from me. I made soft noises and slowly, so very slowly began to cut there bonds.

I never herd him move, but the Red beast, man was beside me breaking apart ropes with his hands. I picked up the smallest crying one and began to move. The rest of the group slowly followed. The red man picked up the one I would have left, the one broken well beyond repair.

There was splashing up ahead, noise of many people heading towards us. I tensed up setting down the small crying one, but the Red one moved in front of me. Loud sounds and lights surrounded us, men picked up all the children and moved them out of the darkness. The Red one looked at me and said something, I hadn't been spoken too in my immediate memory so didn't think to respond. That is what happens when you are lost, you forget about things like talking. Funny thing though, he had offered neither me or the small ones pain and had killed the Monster, so maybe he wasn't one himself?

Slowly, warily I followed him out from Underneath and in to the open. So clean was the air! So soft what the Night! I spread my arms wide threw my head back and laughed, something I cant remember ever doing. I looked at the Red one and I think he was smiling. I wanted to do something, to show him my appreciation, my respect, but I didn't know what.. Thus I did the only thing that was completely against my nature. I offered him one of my true knives.. Slowly he reached out and took the silver blade and in return offered me his hand. A hand made of stone, a weapon that could not be parted from him much like my own.

I took this massive stone creation with my two small ones running my fingers over the markings and along the multiple finger joints. I could tell by the slight movements that he could feel what I was doing. So strange.. A real hand, just stone instead of flesh. I raised his hand to my throat using my own to guide his fingers in to place. If he squeezed once he could snap my neck, but this was the trust I was offering him. I gave him my life for saving it. His hand stayed like a granite necklace around my throat. I hoped that he understood at least in part.

He did…


	4. home

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellboy ! (even if I really wanna:) Cat is mine! All mine!

And a shout out thanks to the two people who have liked my scribble so far, I will keep adding.

To every one else: Review if you want, read if you dare…..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had , had to relearn how to function as a human, as a real person and it was hell. Three meals a day I didn't have to work for, people not trying to kill me. Granted bathing, real cloths and a bed did make up for a lot. But relearning how to talk to people was the hardest part of all. Red didn't seem to mind much though seeing how I spent most , as in all, of my early days with him. One of my earliest memories of hanging out with Red was my first shower I took after getting to the headquarters. Red showed me how the shower worked, his was much more high tech than anything I ever remember using. And he gave me a clean shirt to wear. It had taken a long time to get years worth of filth off my body and out of my hair. Funny I had forgotten what the original color was, sort of a coppery color with a little white around the edges. The brush was as much torture as luxury and 3 hours later I was clean and my hair was brushed for the first time in years. The black shirt hit me at my knees and I didn't have any where to put my knives.

"Hey Cat, did ya fall asleep on me or what?" Red asked brushing a lock of hair behind my ear.

I grinned " Nahh, just thinking about the first time I took a shower. You couldn't believe that sewer kid you had brought back could have been me."

Red sat back down with a snort, " Yeah, then you threw your damn razor at me to prove that it was."

" Well you have to admit actions are so much easier than words in some situations." I logically pointed out.

He laughed, " Dad's guys didn't think so, they weren't gonna bring you along until I said something."

I snorted " Ha, they thought I was going to be your pet for a while. Who would have guessed what was under all the filth and bad attitude ."

Red was quiet for a minute, " I think I had an idea. You were killing monsters when you should have been doin' kid stuff like…." he trailed off.

I gave him a sardonic smile. " When I should have been.. What? Going to sleepovers, playing with dolls, being loved by a family perhaps?"

Red just shook his head.

I sighed, " Look Red, someone had to be the knife in the dark, better me than someone who couldn't handle it. Besides I would have never met you or the guy's. I would have led a completely normal life and then where would you be. You needed someone who wasn't afraid of the dark, it just so happened that I was at the right place at the right time, (to beat a quote to death)."

Red grunted, "All right I'll take the hint, it was destiny . Happy now?"

"Sure, now do you think you can help me to my room with out ripping all this adhesive off my back?" I asked.

As an answer Red just took off his leather jacket gently draping it over my back, scooped me up and flipped me in to an up right position. Yeah it hurt, but it is defiantly easier than laying in the damn office any longer. Traversing the halls from the med lab to my room took a while since the BPRD was little more than a glorified rat maze of mind boggling proportions.

Red set me down carefully on the carpet in my room, I dropped the jacket as soon as he shut the door. Talk about old memories, I still had the shirt Red gave me way back when, its not like I was gonna out grow the thing. Now it was just sort of grayish and soft as anything man made could be. I pulled the shirt over my head wiggled out of my pants and crawled in to my bed. Red had just turned his back while I changed, he had started that early on when I would just change in front of him, it's not like I am shy or anything.

"Are you done already," Red said turning back around.

"Yeah I'm alright now" I said hugging a pillow.

"I guess I'll let ya get some sleep then Kid. Its been a hell of a day." he turned to go.

"Red, wait" I rushed

He turned back to look at me.

" Would you….Would you stay?" Even after all these years I still like to have some one to scare the monsters away. And for the past 7 years Hellboy has been the only thing that can keep the nightmares from coming back.

I grit my teeth and scooted over to make room for him.

Red nodded , " Let me go tell the nanny's so they don't freak out, alright?"

I nodded

There were always guards on Hellboy, on me too for that matter. But from the first time that I realized I didn't dream when I slept next to Red, the guys had a hell of a time keeping us apart. About 4 months in they finally decided it was easier just to give me my way than to find me in Hellboy's locked rooms in the morning anyway. These days no one ever gave much thought to us or our sleeping habits. Well maybe Professor Broom, Red's dad gives it a bit more thought than most, but he doesn't seem to mind much. Thus with the nanny's duly informed of the sleeping arrangement for the night, Red took off his shoes and crawled in to bed beside me.

I rolled on to my good side to look at him, he just looked back at me. We never were much for conversation, 'course I had never kissed him before either, but then I never thought he wanted me to.

As I had done so many times since the fist night in the dark, I took his stone hand in mine. I traced his palm and the many finger joints, my hands traveled up his forearm to trace the spiral designs, a work of art really. Red had closed his eyes as he usually did when I preformed this self proclaimed ritual. Perhaps it would have been too intimate if he had watched me. Tonight though after I traced and retraced the lines of his arm I let my hands reach for the bend of his elbow and up to his bicep. I wanted to know more of him. I touched his face and still he kept his eyes shut. Maybe it made me bolder. I edged closer to him and let my hand explore the contours of his face from the soft skin at his temples to the rough areas of chin and cheek. I then traced my fingers very lightly around the base of one of his horns. Red opened his eyes then.

Red doesn't really like his horns or anyone bringing attention to them. But they had always fascinated me, much like his tail. But his horns, I had never dared touch them until now and it is an interesting thing.

I smiled lazily at him, "You have such pretty eyes Red."

As expected, he started laughing. (Well at least I'm entertaining.) Red rolled over on to his back still giving the occasional snort of mirth. I moved his arm so I could lay my head on his chest and wrap my arms around him, I had slept like this a lot over the past many years and never realized how close we were.

Red gently draped his left arm over me in a protective hug with his stone hand under his pillow. I sighed and snuggled in to him. One wouldn't really think it, but he made a damn good pillow.

"Go to sleep little Cat," he whispered in to my hair. "We'll keep the monsters away,".

I fell asleep feeling small, safe and home…


	5. red's thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own any thing Hellboy, sigh. But Cat on the other hand, is mine until she tells me other wise.

And thanks to every one who is enjoying this little bit of my imagination. I love hearing from ya.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hellboy stayed still holding Cat carefully, he wasn't gonna grab the cuts again. Over the past seven years he had learned a little about women and nothing about Cat. Sure he knew she didn't have a family, foster homes had passed her around and somewhere along the way a little girl got lost in the dark only to be found in a monsters den trying to save some kids. Maybe she hadn't done it to save the kids but just to keep it from happing again. She was a killer but she hadn't been crazy, not yet. About the only thing he could tell that first day was that she was female and carried more knives than any one else he had ever seen. It should have looked funny, but on her it fit. For absolutely no reason she trusted him even though all the men and lights had freaked her out. Getting her to come back with him had been a real bitch, but worth it.

The shower incident had been funny, since Cat wasn't a shy girl and hot water was with in reach; she had slithered out of here cloths faster than a greased pig and Hellboy only had time to gape at her and turn around. He had seen one thing though, that her knives had made up all her wait, she was painfully thin. He had thrown a shirt in after her in hopes she would wear it. When she came out of the shower though, it was all she was wearing with her skin pale from lack of light and green eyes that dominated her gaunt face with a pronounced bone structure. But most surprising of all was the thick braid of strawberry blonde hair that crawled down her back. So he had to make some snide remark just in time to have a knife imbedded in the chair between his legs. She had just smiled and crawled into his bed, (Damn Woman) So he had put up the knife, took off his shirt and got in to bed shoving the chit over to make room. She grumbled and punched him in the gut before rolling over snoring softly. He couldn't help laughing as he turned off the light and passed out.

At some point in the night she had gotten cold and ended up curled up next to his chest. He remembered sleepily pulling her close tucking her against him and pulling a blanket over them both. He could feel the ribs of her back pressed against his stomach. He wondered how she had survived the Dark, the predators. How had she become a predator of the creatures that ate any thing from flesh to souls. And he really wanted to know how she could sleep so easily next to him after all the monsters she had faced. And now he knew, well at least as much as she would tell him. Every one had thought it was hilarious when they found out her name was Cat. It was ironically fitting for a demon to have a cat. The Guardians of the under world and all. Or maybe she was just a guardian of the underground.   
  
He had helped her learn how to talk to people and not to be suspicious of everything and how to like 6 square meals a day. She had taught him how to throw knives and that little girls can fight really dirty.. Cat had slept in his room for the first few weeks before any one realized: A) she was female B) she was human and C) it was rather in appropriate for them to sleep together. They should have left well enough alone…. After giving Cat her own room, that's when the screaming started.

It seems that while living in the Dark, Cat never slept enough to dream. But now that she could sleep, the monsters had followed her home. That's when Hellboy had learned a very small very determined girl could crawl threw the vents connecting all the rooms. The first time Cat had dropped out of the vent he had tackled her. But the minute he hit her, he knew who it was and twisted enough so that he didn't land on top of her. He wanted to be mad, but the haunted look in her eyes wouldn't let him.

Eventually everyone got the idea and for the sake of everyone's sleep, Cat was allowed to stay with Hellboy. Over time the dreams came less and less and Cat could sleep on her own, but every once in a while she still crept in to his room so that he could guard her dreams.

Hellboy stroked her hair absently, wondering about his currently indisposed enigma. She was stubborn, bitchy, funny, hateful, kind , dangerous and at moments like these utterly helpless.

When Cat had realized that he took on the monsters alone she never said a word and just went with him. Oh there had been some damn good fights over that.. Red would loose his temper and throw large things in her general direction then she would loose her temper and throw small things at him with way too much accuracy. And obviously she got her way. (Again, Damn Women.)

Now teaching Cat how to play with guns had been the job for the rest of the guys. Hellboy figured that they needed to get to know Cat and the easiest way to do so was to teach her something that she wanted to know. Clay had been the first to jump in by taking Cat down to the Armory to show her how much more there was to an arsenal other than knives.

Cat took weapons very seriously which the armorer liked, not being a very social man himself, he found a kindred spirit. Thus the weapons master took over her training much to the surprise of, well , damn near everybody. He started with what she knew, knives , getting her to show him just how proficient she really was. She had taken him her assortment of knives, which he found crude but serviceable. He then gave her a set of ten throwing knives and let her at a dummy. After she had tested the weight and balance of each knife she launched them with speed and accuracy into various kill zones of the body. The weapons master could not find her wanting.

The weapons master then introduced her to guns. He started with the smaller hand held versions, fit more for a women's hand. Cat got the idea pretty quick and surprised every one by liking the heavier guns. The 'Monster Sluggers'. After leaning to use the guns, he taught her about ammunition and eventually how to make her own for those special occasions when normal bullets just wouldn't due.

Lead was fine for humans and Fey, silver was for Vamps and Were's. Holy water tips mixed with odds and ends was the General catch all for everything, and everyone had there own variation.


	6. Broom

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just Cat

Sorry this one is so short.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now professor Broom hadn't really talked to Cat other than to discern that she was safe enough to be around and that Hellboy and she bonded in some interesting way. About two months after Cat moved in, Broom found her in the Library talking to Abe, both poring over books. It was roughly 3 AM and surprisingly few people were asleep. Cat was sitting on the floor with an ancient tomb open on her lap, if he guessed correctly it was a book on demonology.

"So he is only half demon and half Human?" she asked Abe.

" From what we have been able to discover, yes." Abe sat in a large leather chair.

" and he was brought over by Rasputin in the 40's at an old Abby in Scotland ?" Cat grabbed another book from a stack next to her, it was in French.

Abe smiled a lipless smile, " That's the story, and now we just kill monsters and protect humanity , you know, like you from the boggy man."

Cat snorted, " I don't think any one in this room qualifies as human, we are all misfits."

Abe huffed, "I beg to differ, Professor Broom here is very human.

Cat stiffened and twisted toward the door. Broom smiled at her, she was an interesting girl.

"While I may be human, I am still part of this family as are you both."

Cat relaxed and smiled back at Broom. "You have a strange Idea of family sir."

Broom nodded. " Yes and you have interesting taste in books, Brushing up on your monsters?"

Cat looked up at him, "Knowing my enemies may be half the battle, but god save me if I don't know my friends."

Broom smiled at her and it reached his eyes, Oh yes she was going to make changes with his sons cocky attitudes. Maybe she would succeed where everyone else had failed, she would take all the time she needed.

'good girl,' he thought, 'good girl'.


	7. bath

Disclaimer: I don't own them, wish I did, but I don't, just Cat.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up some time in the early morning hours with the dull pulsing in my back. Red snored on contentedly. At some point in the night I had thrown my leg over his and tucked my self tightly in to his side. His stone hand was on my thigh and his left arm was still around me. I smiled, Red looked young in his sleep, almost harmless. I ran my hand over his chest, so many muscles for one person. All muscles and leather that was Red. I don't think I have ever seen him look different. But hey if you have a style that works stick with it.

I knew Reds body by sight so now I let my fingers commit it to memory. I had to admit he was beautiful, the circular runes from his hand and arm were etched in his skin over his shoulders and down his back. I had always been curious about them, were the runes for protection, power or maybe a key to something; I didn't have a clue, but I did like looking at them.

Damn, no going back to sleep for me now. Oh well, a shower would be nice anyway. I didn't really want to move though. Red is so warm. His core temperature is naturally higher than mine which is great for winter, but really runs up the air conditioner bill the rest of the year. I grumbled and pulled my self up. Red conveniently decided to wake up about the time I was straddling him.

"Thought you could take advantage of me just because I was sleeping, huh." Red opened an eye to look at me.

" Hmmmm," I cocked my head to the side, " I thought I was on my way to the shower, but if you insist…"

I plopped myself down on his stomach crossing my arms on his chest and rested my chin on my forearms."

I squeezed my legs just a bit, "Did you have something in mind?"

"Yeah," he rumbled with a cocky grin, " Breakfast."

I snorted, burying my head in my arms laughing. " Typical, I thought I could at least get your shirt off."

I sat up shaking my head mournfully. "Guess I'll just go take my shower then."

"Fine if your gonna be that way about it, take my damn shirt." He pulled his shirt off and tugged it over my head. "Happy now?"

I tossed the shirt on the floor, Red had crossed his arms and was trying to look pissed, it didn't work.

"Maybe," I ran my head over those wash board abs. Then I started tickling him. Yep, I was happy.

Red growled and wrapped his arms around me to stop my assault. He then sat up taking me with him. Standing up he looked at me sternly, " Now are you gonna behave ?"

Since he was trapping my arms and I was out of options, I did what I could. Surprise tactics work well. I licked him leaving a wet line up his ribs and over one nipple.

" Now you are just playin' dirty Kitty, you need a bath."

I smiled and licked him again, "Mmmm, tasty ," I grinned.

Red glared at me, " If you don't stop that, you'll be sorry."

" What-a-ya- gonna-do Red, c'mon, what r' ya gonna do," I taunted.

Red just gave me a very demonic grin and licked me from collar bone to eyebrow. He had saved all his saliva for that one.

He smacked his lips, "Not to shabby yourself Cat, but you could use some A-1 sauce."

I just settled for a very disgusted noise and rubbed my face against his chest to get rid of all the slime. Red just kept grinning as he hauled me into the bathroom and turned on the hot water.

Now I really do need a bath," I grumbled.

Red just rummaged around on my shelves till he found bubble bath,( old school, Mr. Bubble) I cant remember where I got the stuff. I never use it, being a shower person.

" You could put me down you know." I said crossing my arms.

Red just shook his head, "Nahhh, then you would run away."

I rolled my eyes, " Bet ya I don't."

So Red put me down and started putting massive amounts of bubble bath in to the water. I turned around and wiggled out of my shirt. I touched my back, gently feeling the gouges in my flesh, Damn they hurt.

"Hey Red, how bad do I look?" I looked over my shoulder at him.

He just stared at me intently for a moment before shrugging, " you've looked worse Kid, course you've looked better too."

I love sarcasm. "Thanks," I also love that Red is modest. He looked away when I sank into the steaming bath. I took a breath, shut my eyes and let the water engulf me. Of course the next thing I know, the big stone hand is under my neck lifting my head above water.

I squinted up at Red. " What?"

"Uh, well you were down for a long time, I just wanted to make sure that you were still alive."

I smiled " you cant get rid of me that easy Red. Now are you gonna help me wash my hair or are ya just gonna watch."

Red smiled, " I would like to watch, but you'd just kick me out, so I'll help."

Thus said, Red soaped up my hair and massaged my scalp with his fingers. I just let him work, it felt damn good to let someone take care of me for a while.

" Hold your breath" he ordered and I did. He rinsed my hair and brought me back up for air.

I saw the tip of his tail curled over the edge of the bath. I took it in my hands as Red worked conditioner in to my hair. Having never given much thought to his extremities, I watched in fascination as his tail curled around my arm like a snake. What an interesting thought. I drew my arm closer to my face to inspect the tail closer.

" Did I ever tell you how much I like your tail Red?" I asked.

" Nahh, just that you wanted to rip it off and beat me with it,"

"Hmmm, well maybe I can think of better things to do with it than rip it off." I slid my hand up the soft skin. Red tensed up, but tried not to show it.

"Hold your breath" he instructed. I grinned and was complacent.

I guided his tail along my ribs and across my belly to wrap around my leg. When I came up for air Red was trying really hard to breath. I got up on my knees and turned to face him, wet hair streaming down my body. I brought my hands to his face making him look at me. I trembled as I raised my face to his. This time he met me half way and the resulting kiss was soft but insistent. He put his arms around me lifting me out of the water.

Straddling his huge lap I pressed my wet skin against his letting flesh slide against flesh, so that our skin could do all the talking. His stone hand was under my legs, lifting me up so that my face was level with his. I thought about saying something, but knew that it would be wrong, so I let my tongue say it all for me. I needed him to know that I wouldn't break if he touched me. I put my hands behind his head bringing him even closer and ate at his mouth as if I was trying to crawl inside of him, and still I felt him holding back.

This just wasn't going to work… I came up for air and managed to stand up in my laughable attempt to tower over him.

I put my hands on my hips. "Look at me." I ordered. And he did, oh yes he did.

Red looked at the body he had slept next to and held so many nights. Full breasts with small pale nipples, smooth stomach , nice hips and great legs. She stood defiantly, feet planted on either side of him. Daring him to look away… He saw the scars too, pale puckers of flesh criss crossing along her skin. Some of the scars were still pink and raw, most though were faded with age. Red knew that there were plenty more on her back, but he wasn't about to turn from her to look at them. Red hooked his hands behind her back and buried his face in her skin. He herd her inhale quickly and felt her tremble just a bit as he slid his hands down her back to play over the muscles in her legs, thighs and lower back. Red bit and licked his way across her ribs and belly. Cat made small sounds as she dug her fingers in to his shoulders. His tail curled lightly around her ankle, probably so that she couldn't get away. But Red didn't think that she would run, not from him. Cat made and odd noise and forced his head up covering his mouth with hers as she slid down his body to attack his throat.

Red picked me up and moved us out of the bathroom, I didn't even realize when we hit the bed. My brain was functioning on auto pilot and I was enjoying it just fine. I rubbed my wet skin alone his. Reds body had risen in core temp a lot in the past few minutes. So that is how I know that he is turned on, (Talk about your burning desire.)

I could feel the ever growing appendage against my leg threw his leather pants. He seemed definitely proportionate to his size. Primal thoughts crawled threw my mind as my hand crept down to rub along the massive bulge. Red groaned in to my mouth and ground himself in to my hand. I rubbed my hand firmly up and down that length of taunt black leather. I undid the snap to his pants and Red went very still.

He pulled away from me just a bit not looking cocky any more, just hungry and a searching.

"You don't want this?" I asked softly.

"I wont ask you too," he said seriously

I smiled a little, " I know."

I undid his zipper one snick at a time. He just watched me, I think he expected me to stop to turn away from him, but I didn't. I wanted him to scream for me… I slid my hands down his abs until I felt the ungodly length of him. Both he and I had very limited experience with sexual encounters, but I knew that Red was anything but normal. I wrapped my hand around him tentatively stroking the soft skin. I watched his face as my movements became confident and stronger, it was beautiful.

Red panted and looked in to her green eyes as his left hand slid between her legs. Her skin was hot an swollen and wanting, just like his. He used his thumb to rub against her and rub and rub, until she was panting and whimpering, just like she was making him do. He put his mouth over hers to drink her moans, the small sounds she made drove him crazy and he liked it. Her hand slid firmly over him until he couldn't stand it any more.

I knew Red was getting close, his sweat dripped onto me and I thought I might just loose it myself. He whole body tightened and an inhuman sound ripped from his throat as he released on top of me and that is all it took to finish me off. For a second I couldn't breath, couldn't move, couldn't think. We just stared at each other breathing hard smiling.

I looked down at his member still twitching a bit in my hand. The tip was pronged and not much different aside from being on the large side. As in scary large. I ran my thumb over the pronged tip and Red shuddered. Slowly I released him, enough excitement for one mornings work.

" I think I need another bath," I whispered. And tried to sit up. My back hurt, big surprise, but there was blood on my sheets. Damn, funny what you can't feel when your having fun. Is seems that I split my gashes back open. Red saw the blood too and looked concerned. He picked up a towel off the floor and was wiping us both off.

" Did I hurt ya?" he asked lifting me up to look more closely at my back, I just leaned against him wrapping his arms around me.

" No Red, you didn't hurt me. You never have and you never will." I laid my head back against his chest. I didn't really want to go to the med lab and come up with an explanation on how I tore my back open again. I just leaned back against Reds beautiful naked body and enjoyed the sensation of our flesh touching. I looked at the small clock beside my bed and realized that very little time had actually passed and that it was still very early in the morning.

I smiled lazily, "Hey Red lets go back to sleep for a while."

He hugged me, " Ya' don't wanna get your back fixed?"

I just shook my head, " Come back to bed, its too early to piss anyone off yet."

I crawled back to my side of the bed and he just looked at me for a minute.

" Don't you want to keep me warm?"

Red didn't need any more encouragement. He crawled under the covers and curled his body around mine. Sometimes I forget he has a good two feet on me and I feel so small when I remember. Naked against his warm red flesh I should feel vulnerable, but instead I feel safe and somewhat turned on. I think how funny it is that two days ago we were little more than friends and comrades in arms. Now I don't know what we are. Could we still be friends or would we be lovers? Who knows, I have realized my feelings, I wonder if he knows his….

Red felt her body relax in to sleep as he curled more protectively around her. He was confused, happy, sated and still horney. He had respected her from day one and learned to like her every day after. But it was times when she opened to him that made him love her. Cat was a pain in the ass, stubborn, hard headed and deadly ball of energy who refused help from everyone. She reminded him of himself. While every one trusted her to keep up with him in the field, she trusted him to let her.

No, Red couldn't leave her behind not anywhere. He had felt this way since the first time she followed him on a hunt. As some point down the road, he had grudgingly admitted to having needed her and yes could trust her to cover his back. And sometime later he realized that she trusted him to lead her back to safety. Her trust in him was so utter and complete that Red didn't know how to deal with it, thus mostly ignored it.

When ever Cat got hurt, which happened often enough, he freaked. Cat would just smile at him and tell him that she would 'Heal'. Red always found the need to touch her, to reassure himself that she was alright. He always wanted to protect her even thought she didn't want it or need it, but in the few moments of her pain she would let him help her. Cat was his to take care of, his to protect. His… Just his.

Red closed his eyes enjoying the sensation of her small body pressed so completely against his. He inhaled the sent off her wet skin and whispered against her wet hair. "Mine!"


	8. play time

Disclaimer: The usual I don't own them, though they might own me….

Thanks to the few brave souls who have read my work and, thanks even more for likeing it.

Also quoted in the following is a small portion of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare act 3 scene 2

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up some time later when the Breakfast wagon crew knocked on the door. I fell out of bed cussed, grabbed Reds shirt and pulled it over my head, hissing at the back pain it caused. I pulled on a pair of pants from the floor and let Red find for himself. I opened the door to a vat of oatmeal, bacon, 'pamcakes' and a pot of black coffee.

"Tuck in kids" Clay winked, " Hope you got enough sleep."

Most of the guys gave us a hard time about out sleeping habits, all in good fun of course, it was usually a part of the morning banter between all of us. I took a cup of coffee as Clay pushed the cart in to the room.

"Why," I asked innocently, "Did we keep every one awake with our hot pink monkey sex?"

Red choked on whatever he had put in his mouth and Clay had to hit him on the back till he could breath again. Clay laughed the entire time too. Red just stuffed a pamcake in his mouth and glared at me. I just sipped my coffee and smiled sweetly.

I sighed " Any way I will be in the med lab 'A' if you need me, and no we can't wrestle again till I don't hurt." This said, off to the med lab I went.

Dr. Evens tisked and checked for new damage. Luckily there was none and he reapplied the burning adhesive. Damn and I had hoped it would be easier the second time around. I drank my coffee willing one burn to over power the other.

"Now" Evens said, shaking a finger at me, "No rough housing for 3 days or else.."

I was tempted to be a pain in the ass, but decided that it was still too early. Did I even mention that I am not a morning person? So now I have 3 days to lay low, maybe I should make some new ammo, or take a hot bath (and get Red to join me.) Yep, still thinking bad thoughts and I have a feeling that I will continue to think such things till I am told not too by the object of my distraction. I laid on the table and let my imagination run amuck and wreak havoc on my poor little thoughts.

"Mmm, breakfast," I whispered to myself, nothing like the thought of food to bring back fun memories. Of course it would be more fun if I didn't have to lay on this cold table. Oh well….

Red was devouring his breakfast with a very single minded aggression. Clay just pored himself a cup of coffee and looked pointedly at the silent agitated Hellboy.

"Wanna' talk about it?"

"Nothin' to talk about," Red devoured another hand full of bacon and stood up. "I'm gonna check on her, her back was bleedin' again."

Clay nodded and let him by. Something was defiantly up, all of the agents had theories on what was going on between Cat and Red. Some of the theories were pretty PG stuff, but most of the ideas floating around were X rated. Now Clay had his own ideas about Red and Cat which mostly had to do with two very complex young people trying to belong somewhere. He thought they found that place with each other. Words like relationship and stable didn't play any part in the equation, but need and friendship did. Hopefully they both figured out that they really did need each other soon. Too bad Cat is as bad as Hellboy when it comes to feelings and stuff, she asked for help less than he did but maybe that was just a girl macho thing.

Red stalked in to the med lab listening to Cats soft voice. Her head was pillowed on her arms and her eyes were closed.

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;  
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.  
The evil that men do lives after them;  
The good is oft interred with their bones;  
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus  
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:  
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,  
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.  
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--  
For Brutus is an honourable man;  
So are they all, all honourable men--  
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.  
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:  
But Brutus says he was ambitious;  
And Brutus is an honourable man."

Her voice rose and fell in pitch. Red just stood in the door and listened, it was beautiful the way her face changed with the words. Her face showed emotion like he had never seen. She stopped speaking and sighed. Red walked in to the room and sat down. Cat cracked open one eye and smiled up at him.

"Did ya' like it?" she asked

Red nodded " Yeah, what was it?"

Cat shut her eyes still grinning " Shakespeare, from his play Julius Caesar. Caesar gets murdered by Brutus and when Mark Antony finds out he gives this speech to the people in such a way as to enrage them."

Red nodded, " Sounds like fun."

" Maybe I'll read you some of his stuff some time," Cat said still in a soft voice.

"I think I'd like that," Red grinned and touched her hair. " You'll have to wash it again, the blood is matting it."

"Maybe I should just cut the damn stuff off, its getting to be more trouble than it is worth." Cat grumbled.

Red might have added something, but the alarm went off. Cat looked at him and smiled a bit. " Looks like you get to go play Red, get a bastard for me will ya?"

Red nodded and headed for the door.

"Hey Red."

He turned back to look at her.

" Don't get killed alright? Umm…. Come back to me" she whispered

Red stood in the door for a moment longer and finally nodded. " For you."

I nodded back and watched him go and hating for him to go alone. He's too cocky for his own good and needs someone to watch his back, cause he won't. Now that I am left to my own devices for the day as long as I take it easy I end up making more ammo for myself and Red. The kind of catch all shot that he likes; Holy water, silver shavings garlic, clover leaf, ash bark.. The works. After making enough rounds to take on a small army of creatures I ended up in the library with Abe going over Shakespeare. As usual we got in to a good natured debate on which were the better works; Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Titus, As you Like it, Much Ado about Nothing and of course Julius Caesar. As we bantered I wondered aloud what might interest Red more the comedies or the tragedies.

Abe threw in his two cents worth and said probably a comical tragedy or a tragical comedy. I had to ask if there really was such a thing or if he was just making up words to make me think harder. I never really found out that one, so one more round goes to Abe.

The less I thought about Red the better, if I did think about him it was to worry if he would be alright with out me, I really hate being out of the action. Three days grace is not what I need right now. So instead of throwing a fit like I really feel like doing I stay very still and try to create a false calm. Waiting, just waiting till I can do something. And as it ended up I am needed. No one knows the Underground better than me. So for the good of Human Kind I went.

The story was that Red and his crew were ambushed by ghouls. Nasty buggers really, every one was still alive, but some of the nasty's got away and {lucky me} Red needs my help to track them down.

The doc, gauzed my back heavily and I still had a feeling that I was going to be seeing him again before the night was over. So after I suited up in to my full battle regalia, back in to the dark I went. The FEAR takes hold quick as it always does and once again I am a creature of the dark. I met up with Red at a pre designated spot but neither of us said a word. We were hunting. Through the water, through the refuse I followed the stench and leavings of not quite dead things. It looked like the pack was a large one and now I was happy that I had made all the extra ammo, cause we were going to need it.

I was double fisting my guns and Red had out the Samaritan, and it's a good thing we did. The tunnel we had been following opened up in to a low room and we were being waited for…Between the two of us we managed to take out six of them before they hit us. Now Ghouls aren't zombies and they aren't Vamp's and they certainly don't qualify as human. Perhaps this group never was human to begin with. Oh, I forgot to mention that the bastards are really strong and have no response to pain sort of like a crack addict.

In such close range the general idea is to keep pulling the trigger until it clicks on empty and you hope to what ever god that the thing that you were shooting in to stops moving. Sometimes this just doesn't work.. One ghoul was attacking my back, but my shoulder holster kept it from getting a good grip as long as I kept twisting. The one attacking my arm had no such problems though, as it bit deeply into my arm I shoved a knife under its jaw up into its brain. And I don't care who you are, a blade threw the skull is going to keep you busy for a while.

Red was settling for ripping there heads off and it wasn't a pretty sight, but you have to get rid of the head or it keeps coming after you. When the majority of the creatures were not moving very fast Red made sure none of them would be getting up again. Where there had been some odd 13 ghouls to begin with, now their were just lots of pieces that occasionally twitched. I picked up my guns from the ground and took stock of everything. Red was pretty bloody with slashes on his arm and belly. Yep it is time to pay the nice Dr. another visit. And my arm was really starting to hurt but since I know that the disinfectant will burn like hell I am not too worried about it. Seeing that there was nothing left for me to do and nothing left for Red to tear apart messily I started walking back out the way we came.

Red caught up with me. " Hey Kid, you alright" he asked putting a weary arm around my shoulders.

I nodded, " Yeah, just keep hoping that one day I can forget the Dark." I snorted at myself.

"I should be used to it by now though." I smiled, " Sad huh."

Red smiled at me a bit, "It just makes ya hu… nahh, its not sad."

I think he was going to say that it made me human or maybe that it made me normal, but he knew better. I personally didn't think I was either. Red had been born out of hells fire, lava, heat and light. I was his opposite born out of cold, stagnate dampness and dark. Most of the time I think Red is more human than me. He had a purpose in life, to protect humanity. What my purpose in life is, well maybe I will find out some day.

We met the clean up crew when we were about half way back to the surface and seeing that we didn't need immediate medical assistance the crew radioed back to the rest of the group and we were able to take our sweet time wandering back out. The Clean up crew was supposed to incinerate what was left of the bodies, but I know that the rats will take care of most of the mess before any one can get their with a torch.

Back with the surface crew Red took over and gave a short debriefing of what happened how many critters there had been, blah, blah, blah. Me, I went and sat in the truck. A short time later, Red joined me and we were on our way back to headquarters. As soon as the truck started moving both of us started stripping out of our gear, Red took off what was left of his coat and shirt. I started removing weaponry from my body. The shoulder holster came first. I took off my belt slipping it from the loops securing the holster to my back then pulled it from my shoulders. The knives would take much longer to remove, Red just watched me, he was used to this show by now. The upper arm sheaths with throwing knives came first while the wrist sheaths with silver stilettos stayed on. I actually built permanent sheaths in to my pants, I designed them my self. So I could carry 7 knives on each upper leg, not to mention the long boot knives. When playing with nasty's, you can never have too much of a good thing, (hey it has kept me alive for this long.)

Red grasped my braid and ran his hands along it removing 3 slender spikes I kept there just in case. He really does know me well, when it comes to fighting I wont hesitate to use my guns, but the knives have always been my security blanket, so to speak. Then I checked Red's cuts, mostly to make sure that they weren't bad and that he wasn't just being macho. It had happened before, hell I do it on occasion. Red gently took my arm and peeled back the sleeve to inspect the bite I had taken. The blood flowed freely keeping the wound clean, it looked pretty messy and I would bet even money that I would be sporting a fun circular scar in the next month or so. At least the beastie didn't manage to take a chunk of meat with it. Red took some gauze and pressed it hard against the bite, making the blood stop. I flinched just a bit and leaned against him. By the time we got back to HQ I just wanted to go to sleep. The Doc on call just patched us up and checked my back. Amazingly I hadn't opened up the wounds again and the looked like they might actually heal now.

After a very short debriefing, they let us go, Red headed off to his room and I went to mine. I managed to take a quick and scalding shower to scrape off all the blood that had accumulated on my skin over the day. For a minute the water around my feet was red, but soon the thin rivulets of the dark color married the water and turned an unassuming pink before circling the drain. I watched this phenomenon for a moment before washing my hair. I wasn't as sore as I merited but then again, I couldn't complain. I dried off, braided my hair and put on a shirt and pajama pants. Flopping down on my bed I fully intended to sleep, but as soon as I shut my eyes, the dark pressed in on me. My eyes shot open and I shivered, the monsters were waiting for me tonight. Stupid Kitty, should have known.

Crawling out of my bed which held no comfort now, I wandered down the halls to the only place I could find peace. Reds room.


	9. dreaming

Disclaimer: nope still don't own any one but Cat.

And sorry it has been so long, I have been out of the country and couldn't get to a computer for a month.

But it gave me lots of time to work on the Fic, so there is plenty more to come.

Cheers to everyone who is still putting up with my scribble; and I appreciate constructive crit. As wellJ

Word of warning, this chapter contains graphic sex.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guard saw me coming and opened the locked and weighted door. As I walked in I was immediately the attention of four massive cats which twined around my legs. Red was in the shower so I made myself at home. The room was huge, meant to be lived in and it was. A wall of mismatched ancient televisions dominated a corner of the room while a large free weight set took up even more space. And the room wouldn't be complete with out the cats lounging on every elevated flat surface that there was. I smiled and sat on the bed playing with the cats that liked me.

Red came out of the bathroom wearing some baggy fuzzy pants. He saw me and stopped.

"Uh, Hi," he said a bit awkwardly.

I smiled and stood up displacing the cat in my lap who grumbled and was very put out. Red grinned. I felt a bit awkward myself.

"Um, I was hoping you would let me stay?"

Red looked at me worried "Dreams?"

I just nodded and sat back down. Red sat beside me, "How about a cartoon first."

I grinned and started stacking pillows to lean against. Red dug threw a huge pile of tapes and put in some good old Loony Tunes. Wile E. Coyote versus The Roadrunner at least 2 hours worth. Enough to make anyone laugh and relax. So we pulled the covers up our legs and propped ourselves up on pillows and watched Coyote fall off cliffs and smash in to walls and the roadrunner do his beep beep and race off. The cats curled up around us and purred. I leaned my head against Reds chest as I drowsed in a half sleep. I felt so content that I wanted to purr myself. The last thing I remember was snuggling up against Red listening to the Cartoons and him putting his arms around me.

Red felt Cats breathing deepen as she fell asleep against him. It had been a long day for both of them. He ran a hand over her sleep softened face and she rubbed it against him. He smiled softly and turned off the TV. Cats forehead wrinkled and she mumbled something.

"Shhh, little one," he whispered against her skin, "No dreams tonight. I won't let them get you."

Cat pressed closer to him and relaxed, a large tabby curled up next to her and started to snore little cat snores. Red wiggled down carefully so that he lay down comfortably and settled Cat gently against him as he fell asleep for the night.

I woke up some time during the night from dreams that had nothing to do with darkness and monsters and everything to do with me and Red and our skin. I took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from my body. My skin was hot and thick, Reds arms were still around me and his heat was radiating against me. At some point in the night I had shoved the covers off the bed and removed my pants. Carefully I disengaged myself from his arms and propped myself up on the pillows. The sweat chilled quickly against my skin and I shivered. Red made a noise and moved agitated in his sleep. I scooted closer to him and stroked his face. He rolled toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I moved his head till it rested comfortably on my breast. I wrapped one arm around his shoulders and ran my other hand down his face to calm him.

"Shhh, love," I whispered, " I'll keep the monsters away." I kissed his head and rested my face against the stubs of his horns. "Sleep," I whispered. Red sighed deeply and draped a leg over mine and slept softly. At some point I fell back asleep myself.

Red woke up some time on the shady side of 5AM with lingering thoughts of sex. He realized though, that he was being held by Cat who was sleeping propped up with her mouth open. He laid his head back down on her breast and listened to her heart beat. His left hand rested on her stomach, she was so small and fragile. He knew she hated being thought of in that way, but he couldn't help it. His hand moved down, sliding over her shirt over her bare legs. Her skin was so soft against his callused hand , the scars were just small imperfections contrasting against her pale flesh. He let his hand travel back up her body sliding under her shirt to rest on her ribs where he could just feel the weight of her breast on the back of his hand. His fingers played along the line of her ribs until his hand cupped the full orb. The texture of the skin on her breast was different from anywhere else on her body, he reveled in the sensation. Red groaned silently and started removing his hand, but she stopped him. Her small hand on his arm guided him back to her breast. He looked up at her and she smiled gently.

I looked at Red threw sleepy eyes as I leaned down to kiss him softly and he rose up a bit to meet me. He caressed me gently running his thumb over my nipple making it tighten. He slowly explored my body with his hand just as I had wanted him to do. I removed my shirt and laid back down, Red was propped up on his elbow looking at me, stroking my skin. His hand moved low on my belly and stopped, he looked at me uncertainly. I took his hand and guided it lower until he cupped me in his hand. I smiled at him again and pulled him down to kiss me. He opened himself to me and I explored his mouth with my tongue even as his hands explored me. It was such a soft slow thing unlike our hot and heavy moments the morning before.

"Take off your pants," I whispered and he did. I wanted to touch his body as he touched mine. His body was all hardness and muscle and scars, not unlike my own. I let my hands travel along the muscles in his thighs and buttocks and the base of his tail. Slowly I let my hands do what my mind always wanted to, Red buried his face in my neck shuddering. Red groaned, "Cat please," he grabbed my hand. I hooked a leg over his and rubbed myself against his flesh. Red gasped and shuddered his body pressed hard against mine. With little effort I rolled him on top of me. No coherent thoughts muddied my brain, only want and need. I held him, rocking my body against his.

Red was gritting his teeth with effort, " I don't want to hurt you."

I was trembling so hard I could barely answer him. " Don't worry I'll like it." I thrust my hips hard against his. Small surprised noises came from both of us both.

Experimentally Red moved slowly Cat writhed beneath him and it had nothing to do with pain. She grabbed his shoulders and bit his neck He moved against her fast creating a friction he knew instinctively was needed for something . She bit him again and he shuddered.

I wrapped my self around him pulling us closer as my world grew continuously smaller to concentrate only on the small pinpoint of multicolored soundlessness that exploded in to being wiping away all else but the intense feeling that lasted mere seconds. Red collapsed on top of me shaking and breathing hard, having just experienced the same amazing moment as I. He looked at me with something akin to wonder on his face.

"Cat.. I… I"

I put my hands on his face and brought it down to rest on my chest, "Shhh, love, it was beautiful."

Red sat up pulling me in to his lap hugging me tightly. " I love you Cat," he said softly tilting my chin up to look at him.

I laid my head on his chest and smiled. " I love you too Hellboy."

Red started awake, Cat grumbled and hugged him, she was still wearing her shirt and he still had on his pants. Damn it to hell! It had all been a dream… and such a good one. He carefully pulled away from Cat to go to the bathroom to get rid of the major pressure build up that the dream had created. It didn't take long, he could still feel the way her body had accepted him pulling him in, wanting him, needing him. Red leaned against the cool wall and panted, it was too much to grasp. He also remembered and epiphany of the dream as well, he had said 'I love you' and she said it back. Red know he meant it, he just didn't know how to tell her in case she didn't know or feel the same. Red with back to bed and laid next to Cat, he remembered the phantom love they had made and how she had wanted him so much. It had nearly hurt them both, but it had been worth it. He breathed normally and made his core temp. drop back down to normal before he touched her again, and carefully wrapped his arms around her.. He didn't think sleep would be possible, but it was and this time he didn't dream.

I opened my eyes in post orgasmic languidness and started. I still had on my cloths and Red was asleep still wearing the damn fuzzy pants, the kitties slept on undisturbed.

"Holy Hell…" I whispered, it hadn't really happened. The memories was so vivid, but I let my body tell its own story. There was no residual soreness, no heat in my skin, no marks on my flesh. Damn my mind for thinking such things! I touched Red, he was peaceful and sleeping, his body was warm against mine, but not with intense heat from desire or whatever. It was just a bloody dream. I almost wish it had been the monsters at least I knew how to deal with monsters. But sex with Red? I don't actually know what would happen or how I would react even in my dreams. But then again if the dreams stay this good, ha ha , who knows what I might get talked in to. I settled back in bed hoping to catch a few hours of sleep, with out the dreams perhaps.

When Red woke up Cat was watching Cartoons and the gatekeepers hadn't brought breakfast yet so they were both still locked in. Cat looked toward him and smiled.

"Hope I didn't keep you awake last night."

Red just shook his head, at odd moments images of Cat naked and whimpering flashed threw his head.

"I slept fine, how 'bout you?"

I grinned thinking about sex, "pretty good." I picked up the nearest cat who purred loudly. I looked sideways at Red, "you know what I want right now?"

Red grinned, "What?"

"Breakfast."

And right on queue, the door opened and breakfast was served, Red snorted and shook his head. I was defiantly gonna stay in my room tonight. Too many dreams of sex and I'll really get no sleep. Oh well I'll worry about that one later. Breakfast is scrambled eggs, grits and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, possibly one of the most sinful foods ever created by man. (Unless you get in to French Desserts. Now those are sinful on the verge of orgasmic.) Okay so my mind is still in the gutter.. Red tosses me a doughnut which I catch in the hand not holding the cat who struggles to get down. Clay leans on the counter yawning.

"Hey Clay, you look tired, stay up late last night?" I asked

He grinned, "I got to lead the clean up crew last night. We spent a couple hours chasing down all the pieces."

Red passed me a fork. "So did ya get to try out the new napalm stuff, or just the good ol' flame thrower."

Clay smiled again, " They let us play with the new toys, since it was pretty strait forward clean up."

Red leaned forward, "so how'd it work?"

Clay kept grinning, " like a charm."

I ate in silence as the Red and Clay talked shop about the new stuff in the armoire and possible jobs over seas, mostly in the Netherlands. Some sightings of old Norris gods might need special task force investigation. I usually don't pay too much attention to rumors, but if Red did get shipped off, so did I. Usually we were given a few days warning so that I could hang out with Abe and brush up on what ever we were going up against. Well it usually kept me occupied for the plane ride at least, reading up on mythology, folklore and other stuff. As always know your enemies, it just makes life easier.

The guys were still talking when I slipped out of the room and headed back to my own. Not that I had anything in particular to do, but I defiantly like having my own space, being the solitary creature that I am. And after last nights dreams, a little alone time is really needed. I wonder if Red knows just how much he tortures me in my dreams. Maybe it's just safer to sleep alone, monsters be damned. At least I expect them, I don't expect well, sex, but real sex, not just dream sex. And damn it was good…I defiantly enjoyed it, but I don't think I can face Red in the morning if I dream about him every night, after all I still don't know what he wants, not really. I'm not sure that I want to know, it might just hurt more than I can handle, and then where would I be. I know where.. Back on the street, back in the dark. Granted I am not a kid anymore, but I don't think I would survive loosing my strange family.


	10. Texas

Hey again my mates, hope you like this one, its going to set the scene for the next set of chapters. And I had to give it a southwest flare, and folklore 'cause that's where I am from and what I do for a living. So cheers! And enjoy or not, the choice is yours.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The siren was blaring again, show time was upon us. Hellboy was like a kid on Christmas morning, he really did love to kill things. Professor Broom was in the debriefing room looking grave as ever and Abe was flipping threw some old books. Nothing different from any other day when we had to kill the monsters. But I felt something heavy in the air. Red was blissfully ignorant as he sat down at the table expectantly looking at his father.

Professor Broom cleared his throat, "We have just received a call from Texas. It seems that children have been disappearing at fairly regular intervals, young children. At first it was thought that the disappearances weren't related, but now we think differently."

Abe chipped in, " There were feathers found at three of the sites where children were last seen."

Red growled, he hated it when kids were involved, " Feathers? What do feathers have to do with anything."

"There is a legend in the Southwest about a creature called _la chupacabra"_

Red snorted, "The goat sucker? Those guys are small time, and they have never been known to mess with people. And.. I asked what feathers had to do with it, so spill."

Abe gave a long suffering sigh then cocked his head and listed to something only he could hear. " The Chupacabra in many legends is just a small nocturnal creature with slightly vampireic tendencies. But from recent research, it is found that the creature is actually very humanoid in shape and covered in feathers with eyes that reflect green due to the mirrored retina much like cats and all other manor of nocturnal animals."

I sat quietly in my corner contemplating this Spanish myth that was a small town tabloid favorite. I had heard of the creature, but passed it off as a corny hoax, guess I was wrong.

"But why kids," Red wondered out loud, shattering my thoughts.

"Cause like ya' said, the goats suckers usually stay away from people."

Broom nodded, " That is what you two are going to find out."

Red and I looked at each other.

"Well at least we can carry our guns in public." I shrugged.

Red nodded , " and they have some great food."

Abe smirked, " Saddle up cowboy, ya'll are going to Texas."

Red smiled and whomped Abe on the back. I grinned, but still the situation just didn't sit right, but aside from the usual , I didn't know how.

Red strode back to me, " Come on kid, it won't be that hard; search, discover, kill some monsters and save the day… It'll be fun."

I nodded, "Guess it's time to pack then."

I was following Red out the door, but hesitated. " Abe, do you know any more southwest lore?"

Abe thought a moment, "Yes, I have read a decent amount."

I nodded, " Have you ever heard of the White Woman? I think she was also called the Wailing Woman. Didn't she have something to do with children?"

Abe just blinked at me, "Who?"

I just shook my head, " No one, never mind I'm just talking."

Abe was already murmuring to himself about having to look her up.

I left the room smiling, usually Abe knew everything. Nothing like folklore to screw with someone's head. And with that, I went to my room to pack and brush up on my Spanish.

An old leather backpack held everything I would need and I fairly bristled with weapons. Lucky we have our own private jet. Hellboy was swaggering down the hall with a duffle bag over his shoulder and a cigar between his teeth.

He grinned at me, " Come on Kitty, its time to go play with the monsters."

I nodded , " Lock and load honey," I reached up, grabbing his cigar taking a long drag. I savored the dark rich sweet flavor before giving it back.

Red winked at me, " I knew I had rubbed off on ya". And with that, we got on the plane and headed to Texas.

Many hours later at a small air strip some where near Laredo, Red and I stepped out in to the Texas heat. It felt about how I imagined being stuffed in to an oven might feel. The over whelming urge to strip down and jump into the nearest body of water was hard to suppress. Good thing too since there was no water in sight.

Red stretched and shed his customary leather jacket, I would have stripped down to my sports bra if my shoulder holster didn't chafe like a bitch. So I had to settle for using a knife and sawing off my sleeves and most of the bottom half of my shirt.

Red snickered when he saw me. "To hot for ya'?"

I was already dripping sweat and he looked just peachy. I growled at him and he just laughed.

A group of men in dark glasses came up to us. The bureau people all looked up tight and uncomfortable. Red could have that effect on people, I usually got the opposite reaction; closer to 'oh how cute' while Red usually got the ' what the hell?!' But the guys standing in front of us were doing a good jog of not staring at either of us.

A very official looking man with a military buzz cut came forward.

" Agents Hellboy and Cat?" He asked as if we could be any one else.

Red nodded and the Official continued. " We will take ya'll to the base and give you a bit of time to settle in before we brief you on the situation in depth. If you would follow me please…" He turned and lead us to a very large, unmarked van.

I stiffened a bit at the thought of an unmarked van with unknown people. Red just gave me a shove, he was an old hand at all this stuff. And I still didn't do so well even after all these years. Oh well. I followed Red in to the van and had nothing to worry about.

After a long uneventful drive, we turned down yet another dirt road and pulled up in front of an unremarkable building. And like most government bases, all the fun stuff was underground. Red and I were given separate modest rooms for what ever the duration of our stay might be. I took the opportunity to shed clothing and rearrange my weapons. I think Red took a nap.

An hour or so later, Red tapped on my door. "Time to go hear them spill it."

I nodded and hopped off the bed. There were three people in the briefing room, each was introduced by talent. There was a historian who doubled as a folklorist , an animal behavioralest and then there was the brains of the out fit . They told us the basics, which we already knew, and added a lot more that we didn't.

There appeared to be no patterns on the children being taken, aside from the age, all were under seven, but boys, girls and children from all races were being taken. At this point there was negative hope for survivors. That pissed me off for a few reasons, mainly because I was a survivor and if I could do it, so could some of these kids. And it also really pissed me off, that only since a rich mans kid got kidnapped was any action being taken.

Red was getting pretty pissy himself, he had hoped originally to have a general area of patrol, but the area of disappearances was so varied, that they might as well just pick a random spot and wait the bastards out.

The general pattern which has deviations( so really isn't a pattern) was that kids went missing around dusk every few weeks to a month and were usually from poor families who couldn't afford to tell the authorities or didn't have their green cards. So in short we had our work cut out for us…


	11. Gramma

Disclaimer: Same as usual, I don't claim Hellboy as mine, just Cat and some of the others.

Cheers to everyone still reading this little bit of scribble, at some point I promise it will go some where…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since there was no pattern for where kids were getting taken from Red and Cat went for the general shot in the dark approach and staked out the local park at some time before dusk. Red sat on a park bench thinking about very little of anything. It was the day of the dead and he fit right in. Everyone was wearing skeleton masks and were trying really hard to appease there ancestors. Cat was somewhere on the other side of the park wearing a mask and had her hair tucked up in a hat. Red knew the night would be special and that something would happen. He was hoping to solve the kidnapping early and get the hell out of the heat, but that just wasn't happening. But what did end up happening was strange enough all on its own.

A little girl about the age of 8 with big brown eyes and curly hair stopped in front of him and smiled.

Hellboy smiled back, "HI."

The girl covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. "Gramma said you were nice."

Red nodded even though he didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about. "She did huh."

The little girl nodded vigorously. "Uh huh, and she said, uh, she said you were gonna help us with the dark places."

Red nodded, "Yep, that's me, and I would really like to meet Gramma.

The girl was practically dancing where she stood. "Gramma wants to meet you too!"

Cat was sitting under a tree almost in a daze, the heat was frying her brain in a bad way. At least the mask wasn't as bad as it could be. The heat was bad enough to make her zone out into a psudo sleep stage. And during one of these almost sleep moments, she felt someone staring at her. A little girl with solemn brown eyes and curls.

The very unchild like, child stared at her. "Gramma said I would find you here."

Cat blinked threw a haze of heat, " Why did Gramma want you to find me?"

The little girl looked at her hard. " Gramma says you know the Devil and the dark don't like you any more."

Cat nodded because she couldn't think of anything else to do.

The girl held out her small hand. " Gramma said to bring you home with me."

It briefly crossed threw Cats head that the little girl couldn't know her behind the deaths head mask, and she couldn't really be who her gramma wanted her to bring home. But Cat let the girl take her hand and lead her off anyway. It wasn't until after Cat stood up, head swimming, that she saw the replica of the girl holding her had, leading Red in the same direction.

Red smiled and winked at Cat, he was having a good ol' time. The little girl was as cherubic and full of merriment as her sister was not. Cat looked a bit dazed, but he figured it was just the heat getting to her. He loved kids, they generally liked him more and weren't guarded like adults. The little girls, twins he realized, were mirror images and polar opposites, which he found really interesting. The girls lead them to a poorer part of town. Red hummed a bit as the girl danced around holding his hand. They ended up shortly standing out side a tiny house with a yard full of chickens and a dog sleeping in the shade of the porch. The sedate sister opened the gate and lead them in to the house which was very dim after all the sun light. The girls left Cat and Hellboy standing in the front room that smelled faintly of herbs and unidentifiable things. The girls came back in to the room, helping an ancient woman to an old overstuffed chair that had seen better days. The old woman had skin the color of old leather that was wrinkled heavily over fragile bones and wispy white hair pulled back in a bun. Yet for all the frailties of her body, Hellboy could feel the power that radiated, barely contained by her old form. Gramma smiled, her sharp black eyes darting back and forth between Hellboy, Cat and the girls.

"You first boy, come here so I can see you better," she peered up at him.

Red stepped up to her and hunkered down to almost eye level.

" So you're the Demon I herd was coming." She touched his face and nodded. " About time you got here."

Red didn't know quite how to answer, but then realized he wasn't expected to as Gramma turned her attention to Cat.

"Come hear girl, I want to get a good look at that old soul you are carrying around."

To her credit Cat knelt at Gramma's feet and smiled up at her. "Im not the important one,he is." Cat stated. "He'll save the kids, I just help him out a bit."

The old woman snorted. " You always did underestimate your worth, always selling yourself short. Now I am telling you to stop it!" she took Cats face in her ancient hands. " You have survived this long girl.. Don't you think that someone has bigger plans for you than just following him around?"

Cat ruefully shook her head. " I don't think that far ahead."

The old woman winked at her. " Don't worry, I am sure you will find yourself soon enough, guardian." Then it seemed like it was down to business.

"You have heard that the Chupacabra's have been steeling ninas, but it is not in their nature, so you two have to find out who is making them take the baby's. It's someone old and powerful and not very happy."

Red and I looked at each other, " Um, how do we do that?"

Gramma smiled and looked at her granddaughters. "You'll use the little ones as bait."

We both shook our heads.

I said, "No way" at the same time Red said "nuh uh."

Gramma made shoeing motions with her hands. "Now don't you worry about my girls, they can handle any young monsters, the Chupacabra can't hurt them."

I think we both looked at her blankly for a moment.

"Girls," Gramma took the twins hands, "Let them see."

The two little girls smiled, one softly the other knowingly, and instead of proper children, they were more. With large oblong eyes and sharp teeth making them look not quite so sweet any more. They still held hands and seemed sort of child like until they spoke. Their voice was at once soft, lulling and frightening and very unnerving to hear only one voice as they both spoke.

" We decided gramma was an interesting being and that we might stay with her. She showed us kindness and in return we help as we can. Now we must help you.."

I coughed and Red smiled.

" Well I guess we will go ahead and use you as bait then, seeing as you are both a hell of a lot more prepared than we are. What do they call you two anyway."

The children that were not children smiled. " You would know us as Agony and Ecstasy. Most people think we are the Devils henchmen, but we are not. We simply are…. Neither good nor bad, just hand in hand always."

Gramma smiled fondly at them, " Those are my girls alright," patting them. " No one would ever think to look for deities in Texas, we create legends here, not gods."

" Right then," Red nodded. " So ladies, when do we start?"

The girls looked like children again. "Tomorrow."

I was still a bit disconcerted to find a pair of minor gods pretending to be little Spanish girls calling a very powerful witch Gramma. I also knew for a fact that the girls could handle this problem on there own with out so much as blinking there pretty little alien eyes. So it only left me to wonder what the hell they wanted us for… Comic relief maybe? Maybe I am just being paranoid, but any deity that is still around has more power and pull on their side than we do. It doesn't quite add up properly. All we are really good for is the foot work, and killing things.

Red said our good bye's and drug me out behind him.


	12. thoughts

Disclaimer: still the same old stuff.

And cheers to every one who is still enjoying my weird since of humor enough to keep reading! I love you all! And don't worry (or maybe you should) there is plenty more coming …

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heading back to the compound Red was grinning. " bout damn time we had some action."

I refused to state the obvious that we had only been in Texas for 36 hours or something close to it, and just nodded. " Its been a long time since we've met anything half as powerful as those deities pretending to be kids. Guess they are tired of some one messing with there turf."

Red nodded and took in a deep breath of spicy air. " They have to be the real reason we are here, but why they want us is beyond me. Unless by some chance they couldn't set it up by themselves. But a few missing kids should be a cake walk for these guys."

Hearing my thoughts repeated by Red was both good and bad in a way. It defiantly made me feel better that I wasn't the only one wondering about what the hell was really going on. But it didn't help me to think that he had drawn the same conclusions about the deities not needing us for any reason that we could figure out.

I followed Red silently slipping in to my own thoughts about all that Gramma had said about the Dark not liking me any more and what the hell she meant by it. Gramma seemed like the type of person Abe would get along with really well, I entertained the idea of getting Abe shipped down here for a bit. It was a great thought, granted that Abe wouldn't do well in the heat at all, but he could always give it the old college try…

Back in the cool sterile self sustaining environment of the underground compound Red headed for the mess hall, starving as usual. I followed a bit hungry my self. Dinner as always was a casual but lively ordeal of people gawking ,amazed, as Hellboy inhaled mass quantities of food at an astonishing rate and me eating a bit at a time between calling for more food for Red.

After the dinner fiasco that really wasn't, we fed some general information to the starving men about the possibility for action with in the next 24 hours. They jumped on the news like starving crows on a corpse. (Maybe that was a bad analogy) but true non the less. After every one was sated in some form or fashion, Red and I decided to go proper exploring since Red could go out and play, being as it is Halloween and all. And lucky us, we managed to find a bar that gave a free round of drinks to any one with a half decent costume. The bar's name was Midnight Rodeo and the Tequila was cheap and the long necks cheaper, seeing as it was quarter beer night. Those guys really saw us coming.

Red grinned and I knew we were in trouble. " The shots are on me!"

Now I can do shots like no bodies business, but when drinking with Red I look like an amateur. He put us all to shame. I really couldn't see strait by the time the night was over and Red had to drag me home.( Oh Yeah, we won a costume contest as Beauty and the Beast.) Now the Tequila was making my world spin in a nice slow circle every time I blinked my eyes. Red held me up and laughed at me good and long. Granted I would have done the same to him if he was ever in my place. I leaned against him as I had done so many times before.

"Hey Red," I mumbled, " Have I ever told you how much I love ya?"

Red kept walking, steering me in the right direction. "nope, tell me."

I snuggled closer to his ever warm skin. " I love ya more than the first time I saw the night sky."

Red stopped for a moment " Yeah well I love ya more than the sun."

Love being such a random concept any way, made complete since to me with 10 shots of Rot Gut in my system.

I yawned. " could you put me to bed?"

Red laughed, " Yeah I'll put you to bed. But only on one condition."

I don't remember when we got there, but we were standing out side my room.

" And what's that," I asked , looking at him and seeing his edges blur from the amount of alcohol I had in my blood stream.

" Give me a kiss goodnight ," he whispered.

I smiled softly, my arms already creeping around his neck. I brought my lips close to his and could taste the heat of the alcohol on his lips. I opened my mouth over his and inhaled his breath in to me. Red held me closer and our mouths brushed as we breathed threw each other for a moment. He laid a soft kiss on my lips and then one on my forehead. Red opened the door and lead me in to my room as I swayed slightly. I just sat on the end of the bed and looked at my shoes, but could really figure out how I was going to get them off.

Red really laughed then, " Poor Kitty, all that Ta-kill-ya has messed you up good."

I looked at him and growled, " It's your own damn fault challenging everyone to a drinking contest."

Red picked up my foot and braced it on his thigh and began unlacing it. " Now don't blame me for you bad habits."

He pulled my boot off and began working on the other. His tail curled around my ankle and I watched it with rapt fascination as it slid along the skin above my sock. Random thoughts of elicit sex hop scotched threw my head, all from a simple touch against his own violation. I guess I was smiling cause Red wanted to know what was so funny.

I just shook my head, " nothing' hun' guess I just need some sleep."

Red gave me a hug and made me lay down like a good little girl.

"Night kid," He brushed my hair away from my face, " I'll see ya in the mornin.' "

I nodded smiling, " yeah Red, see ya in the morning."

I laid propped up on the pillows and watched him leave the room. The sterility of the room hit me as the door closed. White walls, unforgiving lights and official everything. I hadn't felt so alone in along time. Sighing I shut my eyes and let the world spin around me until I slept fitfully.

__

I could feel them around me, all fang and claw and hate, all for me. I had nothing to protect my self with. I felt like a child again. I was alone in the dark with the monsters. Something was different this time, something wet and sticky covered my body, blood, and it wasn't mine. I could feel it against my skin every time I breathed. The monsters didn't come for me, yes they hated me, but again something was different. Maybe a shift in perspective or a new play in the shadows. But someone stood in my dream watching me. Someone I knew instantly to fear more than the monsters. I couldn't move, the figure came closer. I still couldn't see his face, but I knew him on a subconscious level, someone who had something to do with my past. The monsters groveled and whimpered and clacked their claws. The crept closer to me in my suit of warm blood. I reached my hands out to touch them…

And then it was gone, something had woken me. Red…

He was sitting on the floor at the end of my bed looking at me. I blinked stupidly.

"Red?"

"I uh, couldn't sleep and just wanted to uh.."

I sat up and crawled over to him. It had been a few hours and I was already tasting the stale alcohol and knew a headache was forming behind my eyes. But it was so rare that Red ever came to me, nothing else mattered at the moment. I tried to get out of bed, but failed miserably, falling half over Red's lap and dragging all the covers with me. Red chuckled a bit and pulled me fully in to his lap wrapping the comforter around us.

I snuggled against his warmth, " tell me what's bothering ya, honey."

Red rested his chin on my head, " I just missed ya, and.. Yeah…"

I grinned and wrapped my arms around him, sort of, " Then stay."

Red nodded, picked me up and tucked us in to my now too small bed. Amazingly we both still fit, well sort of. I some how managed to steal his shirt and systematically remove the rest of my clothing until his black shirt was all that remained. Red as usual had on the damn leather pants. At some point I'm gonna really have to break him of that habit. But not tonight. I laid down on Red, half on his chest, tucked in to his side. His warmth reminded me of the summer heat and I pulled myself closer to it, he wrapped his arm around me, lips brushing the top of my head.

I sighed content, " You came when I needed you and I didn't even know it." I mumbled.

"Hmmmm?"

"Nothing," I pressed my cheek in to his chest and sleepily listened to his heart beat. Red stroked my hair a bit and I lazily traced the spiral patterns on his chest. I was defiantly still drunk, but at the moment I didn't really mind.

"Night ," I yawned and closed my eyes.

"Night Kitty,"

__

The blood on my skin was hot and thick and the monsters huddled away from the malevolent presence that was worse than any of us. The slick wet blood on my skin pulsed against me. I was not afraid of the beasts for once. As the thick presence got closer the monsters came closer to me. A long slick tongue curled along my skin laving off the blood. I reached my hands out to the monsters and they fawned at my feet sucking the blood off my body. I felt something snaking around my waist, it was a skirt (if you could call it that) of bones, bones crawled around my wrists and ankles encasing my arms and legs. I was not afraid of anything accept the dark man. How do you fight against the Dark? The Dark is everything. And yet I stood there and it did not touch me. The figure moved closer gliding across the floor, no light would ever find him, he was darkness given form. I wanted to cringe, to run, but the monsters surrounding me wouldn't let me. Odd isn't it, that the bastards who caused my nightmares for so long needed me to protect them from their own.

Still covered in blood as if I was bathed in it, it ran from my hair in rivulets, but never touched the ground. The creatures surrounding me drank of it, yet I would never be clean of it. The bones at my waist clacked against each other, the blood never touched them either. I stood alone in my defiance, clothed only in blood and bone , smelling of hate and fear. And yet still I didn't move. The figure stopped with in touching distance.

"Guardian," it rasped, " I know the taste of your tears."

"Yaaahhh!" I jolted awake. If Red hadn't been holding me, I would have fallen off the bed.

" What's wrong Cat?" Red looked at me kind of worried.

I was covered in sweat that stank of fear. For a moment I thought it was blood. I cringed and hugged Red burying my face in his neck in hope of hiding there. I think I started to cry.

"Hey, hey, no.. come on Cat." Red stroked my back " What's wrong sweetie."

I had to smile, he never called me sweetie. I laughed a bit but as usual it was humorless.

" It was a dream Red," I shivered, wrapping myself around him for warmth. " Just a stupid dream," against my will a tear leaked out. " Damn him" I whispered.

Red supported me against his chest, " Who?"

I shrugged, " the bastard who has tasted my tears.. I mean it was a stupid line any way." I snorted, being sarcastic was better than crying, " What the hell does that mean anyway, I have tasted your tears. It sounds like something from a bad B horror flick or something.."

Red didn't like the sound of that. Even he knew that while tears were not as strong as blood, they still held a persons essence. And tears were powerful in that, they had to be shed willingly or not in moments of passion. And he damn well didn't want anyone having that over his Cat! He curled around her on the little bed, his tail twitching erratically before curling around her wrist softly. He could see that she had finally drifted in to a sort of half sleep and this time he was going to properly guard her dreams. It seemed that he had been getting lax since her dreams hadn't been bad in a while. No his Cat would sleep peacefully for the rest of the night with no more darkness and men and monsters. Funny though, it wasn't monsters that had scared her this time. So maybe they weren't bothering her as much any more, but it chilled him to think of the new menace that was taking the monsters place.

He whispered ancient words in to the hot air of the room and smelled the sent of Cats dreams. He grinned and tore them away. Chasing the malignant presence from where they clung thickly, lurking in her mind. The darkness was persistent and tainted everything it touched, but Red was ruthless and the moment the Dark let go, Cat went completely limp. She would have no more dreams tonight.

Red lifted her higher on his chest and resituated the covers. Cat turned her head and buried her face in his shoulder. Red absently stroked her face, feeling the residual moisture from her few shed tears. He really hoped that tomorrow they would get the bad guy and get the hell back to Jersey. These dreams were more along the lines of Abe's expertise, all Red could do was get rid of them, but he was at a loss as to what they meant, and he couldn't keep them from coming back. All he knew for sure is that he didn't want her dreaming of men who drank her tears.

Red sighed again, he seamed to do a lot of sighing when Cat was involved, and stroked her hair which still smelled like stale cigarette smoke. Life had been much simpler before Cat had snuck unassumingly in to his life 7 years ago in the form of a painfully young street kid with ancient haunted eye. She had been under is protection then and she was still under it now. Monsters, prophecies and little old ladies be damned. She still needed his protection, she still needed him. He shook himself mentally and considered meditating for about a second, before trashing the idea. They would have a big day tomorrow and both needed their beauty sleep.


	13. prep time

Disclaimer: I don't own them, blah, blah,blah

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up with a monster headache and a hazy recollection of blood filled dreams. Granted I had slept threw the second half of the night, but Today would be hell and not in any pretty poetic way either. This was going to be a sunglasses day. And I remembered about the heat and groaned. Yep today was really going to suck.

At some point I also realized I was sprawled completely on top of Red. Guess I missed something last night I just wasn't sure what. With a mental growl I rolled over, lost what little balance I had and landed on the floor in a tangle of sheets and my limbs. I stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"Owww," I said softly. I could see the bed shaking, the bastard was laughing at me. What a great way to start the day.

"You alright kid?" Red laughed leaning over the side of the bed to look at me.

I stood up slowly and growled out loud this time, which was ruined by a huge wad of phlegm in my throat that made me gag and cough.

Red was still laughing when I slammed the bathroom door. I brushed my teeth while I stood in the shower and washed my hair just good enough to get rid of the sleazy bar smell. 7 minutes after I got in the shower I was wrapped in a towel standing beside the bed. I grinned when Red looked up at me.

"What." he didn't like the look of my grin.

I didn't say anything, but shoved him really hard and managed to push him off the bed. Red hitting the floor made a much more satisfying sound than I did. Thus my work complete I jumped back on the bed and promptly passed out .

The next thing I know Red, damp from his own shower crawls back in to bed. I grumble loudly as he resituates me so that we both fit on the little bed. Funny, the bed had been plenty big with just me in it. Who would have guessed the big red guy would take up that much room. Red draped his arm over me, as usual tucking his right hand under the pillow making for a rather uncomfortable angle. So I just put my head on his bicep and conked out again. Life is good when you don't have dreams.

Red grinned watching Cat sleep , she was kinda' cute especially when she snored a little. He'd never admit it to her, but he loved it when she wanted to play. Just like when she shoved him off the bed. When Cat wanted to play, it meant that she was happy. And when Cat was happy she was a hell of a lot more fun to pick on. While Cat couldn't body slam him or anything, Red had to admit that she could fight dirty and manage to take him down when she meant business. Reds mind drifted to the coming evenings festivities with the deities masquerading as children and the strong possibility for the little beasties to try and steal them. He sighed, well at least the night would be interesting. He tried to match his breathing to Cat's as she snuggled just a little bit closer on the minuscule bed. If they survived this, they were defiantly gonna sleep in his room. At least it had a proper sized bed and neither would have to worry about hitting the floor. (Well if they didn't shove each other off on purpose that is.) he actually remembered a time when he had pushed her off the bed and she had jumped on him, beating him thoroughly with his own tail till he called for a truce. They had defiantly had a few good times and hopefully they would have more, but not today.

After managing to steal a few more precious hours of sleep, my hangover didn't feel so bad any more, but breakfast was out of the question. Red had some how managed to get out of bed and out of the room with out waking me again.. Does that boy have talent or what ? I give a person lots of credit if they don't wake me up. Its not like I'm a heavy sleeper or anything.

Today would be spent in preparation for tonight and since we didn't have a clue as to what might happen, we were going to over compensate like crazy. It is always best to be prepared for elephant even when you are only expecting rabbits or something stupid like that. But proverbially speaking, we were prepared for the damn elephant if the bastard decided to show up. Not that we really expected an ancient evil to pop up just because we got rid of its cronies, but hey it could happen right? So we would be there with bells on or blades and guns in this case. To bad we didn't know what kind of ancient evil we were going up against, there were so many types. Huge books had been written on the subject in more languages than I could think of. And at this point it would be to late to try and figure out which of the bad boys needed children for stuff. So as usual we just didn't sweat the small stuff like what we were fighting and just loaded up with sharp pointy things and lots of stuff that went boom really loudly.


	14. monsters

Hello mates, I'm back with yet another installment of the lives of Hellboy and Cat. Sorry it has taken so long to get this one out to ya… Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: yada yada yada. Blah blah blah. Yaknowwhatimean.?!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the heated hues of the day slowly changed from blue to a deep red, we knew it was time to head out. Red and I had prepped the small team of special agents who would be going with us. The general idea was that they would stay out of the way until we told them to do other wise. Lucky for us, they actually followed orders, unlike Red and myself.

The air was actually colder outside today, clocking in at a crisp 80 degrees rather than a scorching 110. I don't know if it was a good sign or not, but in retrospect I guess it didn't really matter did it? Red was checking the Samaritan for any possible flaws and making sure he had enough ammo distributed about his person to take on an army of undead, or general monsters. I had my glocs, massive amounts of ammunition and enough blades that I fairly bristled and I almost felt safe.

The small team also had the general catch all ammunition , it seems that they had stayed up most of the night making it. I had to give them credit or maybe an A for effort.

Red grinned and whispered to me, "They sure are good little boy scouts."

Of course we would have to see how they held up under the pressure of the next few hours and then they might receive official high marks (or not if things went to hell)

Red lit his customary cigar that stayed in his jacket for such occasions and I spun my stilettos out of their wrist sheaths in a showy fashion.

" All right boys, its time to dance." Red grinned and led us out.

At the park we dispersed thinly as to not draw overly much attention to our selves. Red took prime position under a tree to watch the little girls that weren't, play. I sat on a bench sprawled out without a care in the world, while the guys tried really hard to blend in with the small groups of adults who were busily ignoring their kids. The little girls looked up at me for a fleeting second and flashed me a smile full of sharp teeth. I tried not to shudder, but like it or not, they scared me. I didn't care what they look like, gods, minor or not shouldn't be taken lightly. I went back to scanning the crowd and then it happened…

Maybe it was just a change in the breeze or my mind playing tricks on me, but I immediately went in to hunt mode. There was something near the not girls but the harder I tried to see it, the less substantial it became. As if my vision was sliding off a slick surface like oil repelling water. The girls gave up what ever game they were playing to follow something only they could see and Red was already two steps ahead of me. We made an odd sort of shambling parade lurching and stopping and following but not too closely as to alert or alarm the creatures we snuck after. I could tell Red wanted to move in and destroy something, but to give his due, he had near perfect restraint. So follow we did in to the heat drenched evening. The girls seemed unperturbed about being off in the psudo desert with monsters and I wondered how they knew to act around these things with out giving themselves away. Granted the girls were much better actresses than I would ever be.

The pace was slowing and the creatures became much more visible. Abe had been right, the vaguely man shaped creatures covered in a fine layer of feathers and disturbingly inelegant eyes. There were many of them, creeping out from hiding spots in the brush. Some where far behind us I knew that our special team was straining at the proverbial leash to shoot something, but damn, they were better trained than us. And yet we waited to see what would happen next. And it wasn't what we expected. The creatures circled the girls, touching them, examining them, yet not hurting them at all. Sort of like inspecting the merchandise before offering it up for sale at a higher price. (probably not the best analogy at the moment, but apt.)

I was so busy looking at the _chupacabra's_ that I didn't notice the women until she was walking among the creatures. Stroking them absently as she walked past, they cringed just a bit as they fawned for her attention. The not girls were putting on a note worthy performance of being scared children. The women stroked their faces and said something to them. The girls held her hands and followed her. The women was beautiful in an ethereal sort of way, with long black hair and pail skin. We followed, Hellboy and I; the rest of the team fell back for a while to let us work. I glanced at Red and saw the single minded force that was driving him onward. I don't think we actually had a plan for what would happen next, but then one of the creatures caught our sent and the need for a plan was eliminated. We froze in the momentary second when a tick of the clock lasts a life time. Red had his guns out and I realized with a start so did I. We were efficiently surrounded but surprisingly I wasn't worried, I think I was smiling and It wasn't pretty.

The women drifted over to us, the little girls in tow. Her power was thick and hot as jungle rain and it threw me off a bit. But that was fine since she was paying no attention to me at all and was strictly looking at Red.

" What are you doing here demon? Have you come to mock me as well?" her hands caressed the not girls heads. " you and your little pet, have come for my children."

The women was crying, but something was wrong with her tears. She was crying tears of blood, it ran in stark trails down her soft white skin to stain the dress she wore. It seemed like she had run out of real tears long ago and her body had traded tears of salt water for something more substantial. I was fascinated by those tears like a bird is fascinated by a snake.

I leveled my gun at her. " Poor weeping mother, where are your children?" I asked in a soft voice that was not quite my own.

She turned those bloody tear kissed eyes to me as if I was a creature who had done something interesting and unexpected. " My children are lost, do you not hear them crying?" she asked me.

And the funny thing was, I did. Accept they weren't crying; they were screaming in my head. The _Chupacabra_'s rushed us and we opened fire. The special forces team came out to play as soon as Reds first shot had been fired. I was busy screaming along with the voices in my head. I shot with every breath I exhaled and screamed because I couldn't not. The women was gone and so were the girls.

Red wasn't worried about the twins, they could take care of themselves, but he was damn worried about Cat who was having major issues and was currently huddled on the ground, clutching her head, rocking back and forth. The scary part was that she had dropped her gun, and that just didn't happen. He reached down to touch her, big mistake.

Cat screamed; "GET AWAY, GET AWAY, GET AWAYYYYY!!!!" Red pulled back sharply, shaken, for in the second he had touched Cat, he could hear the children screaming in terror and death. Such violent emotions really made him want to hurt something. But there wasn't much left to hurt. Red lifted his gun to shoot one of the Chupacabra's that was still alive after a fashion. But he was reluctant to pull the trigger as he saw the sad intelligence in the creatures eyes.

"Don't kill it!" Cat screeched and scrambled on hands and knees to kneel beside the creature who had begun to keen as she moved closer.

" Poor monster," she said stroking its feathers. "You want to stop the screaming too." Red and the others watched as the creature reached up a weak hand to touch her and trembled as it quietly died under her gaze.

Red put away his gone and just stared for a moment, "Cat?"

She didn't even look up as she moved toward the next creature who was yet still alive. It tried to crawl toward her, but death was weighing down its shadow too much to allow for much movement. Cat touched it and it shuddered.

" It doesn't want to die, it didn't want the small things to die." Cat stood up abruptly, the special team still had its guns trained on the still breathing creature.

Cat looked at them, " its already dieing, so kill it."

Cat raised her eyes to meet Reds and she cringed a bit. Red didn't like that at all, He wanted to make that look in her eyes go away. Something wrong was going on here and they needed to figure out what it was fast. Oh yeah and find the women who cried blood tears.

I looked at the poor dead creatures and felt nothing but sadness for them. They couldn't help but obey the women in white. Her power filled them, made them burn with her needs, wants, desired. With out her power driving them, they were just the creatures they were supposed to be. And I cant begrudge them their own being. Yet they had all had to die because of her. That beautiful cold women, she had sent them all to die. In that moment I I knew with cold calculation that the women would die by my hand and I would feel nothing but satisfaction with her death. I knelt by the dead creatures and stroked the soft unbloodied feathers of its cheek. The death of these shy creatures was such a damn waste. I could feel a sob choking me, burning behind my eyes, ready to break through my ribs if I didn't give in to it. But I refused, I swallowed down the sob along with my anger and I felt tired and empty for all my trouble. Serves me right I guess. I shouldn't see the monsters as anything else, but the problem was; after these monsters; now I did…..


	15. ready or not

Hello my lovies, hope life is treating you all as good as it is treating me.. Here is the next spine tingling edge of your seat (okay I'll cut the crap) here's the next chapter.

SF

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A clean up team had already been called in to take away the bodies. Red lead the crew back to the base as soon as the last creature was dispatched. The special team had done a better job that expected, so he game them the praise they deserved. Cat was still being quiet in her brooding grumpy sort of way that fairly screamed _piss off. _And Red being the sensitive guy that he was, left her the hell alone and joked with the guys. They all took turns sharing their favorite work related stories full of blood, guts and general mayhem. Granted most of the teams stories dealt with human deviants while Reds stories were full of monsters. The team ate it up, loving the spice of supernatural danger now that they had, had ever so small a taste of it. Some of the guys might even be able to swing it for the monster squad if they asked nicely enough or played kiss ass with the right people.

Red watched bemused as one of the younger guys, misguided but meaning well tried to talk to Cat. She looked at him and growled something obscene that sent him running back to the rest of the herd. The kid looked slightly shaken and as if he didn't know if he should be insulted or not.

Red whomped him on the back, " Don't worry sport, she likes ya'."

The guy snorted, "yeah me and the Pope."

Red grinned , " Nahh, I know she likes ya' cause she didn't pull a gun on ya."

The guy laughed incredulously, " Your shittin' me."

Red winked, " I'd give you a demonstration, but that little Kitty packs a punch like you wouldn't believe."

The guy laughed, but some of the older guys who were grinning nodded in agreement. One of them tapped the younger one on the back of the head.

" think about it kid, if she couldn't play rough, she wouldn't be here would she."

Red looked thoughtful at the statement, " Its not so much that she plays rough, its just that she'll kill you faster. She never hesitates, that's why she's here." As Red swallowed, a knife blade pressed against his throat as a weight settled on his back.

" That and because I am just so damn good." Cat grinned as she smacked the flat of the blade lightly against his Adam's apple.

Red grinned and grabbed Cat's arm dragging her off his back, she laughed, kicked against him and launched herself back on to the dirt.

One of the guys whistled appreciatively, "Gotta love a women who knows her knives."

Cat grinned and bowed. Red put an arm across her shoulders an she punched him In the side. Every one laughed, and Cat kept smiling; her bad mood forgotten for the moment. No one but Red noticed the small clump of feathers tucked in to her hair. Granted the feathers almost matched her coloring, but not quite enough. Cat might be playing for now, but she hadn't forgotten her problems. She never did.

Back at the base; Red, Cat and the team debriefed, and it wasn't a pretty sight. They had lost the girls, let the bad guy get away and killed the only things that could have been interrogated. The only plus in the eyes of the head assholes was that we managed not to get any of their men killed. So after a thorough chewing out, the men were some what crest fallen and Red wanted to tear something a new ass hole. Cat just grinned in a dark little way as if she was thinking of all the things she would do to the bastards if she wouldn't get caught. 

After our, ever so pleasant chat with the guys who thought they were in charge we all needed to blow off some steam. And after shedding all of my gear and most of my weapons I went to find Red. Not surprisingly he was already in the gym beating the stuffing out of a punching bag, man did he look pissed too. I didn't think at the bag would hold up much longer under Reds attentions so I decided to distract him. He hadn't seen me yet so I took a running start and tackled him at his knees, which was the most effective way to knock him down since I weighed about a third what he did. I jumped off him as quickly as I hit.

" Son of a bitch," Red growled flipping to his feet to face me, then his face broke out in to a grin. " Good shot Cat, but now your gonna' get it."

Red slowly circled me as we faced each other tence, edgy and smiling. Anticipation is a beautiful thing. Red tail twitched sporadically like a cat ready to pounce. He rushed me and I threw myself to the side kicking out as he passed. Red twisted grabbing my arm and tossing me in to the air. I managed to get an arm around his neck for a head lock that was pretty damn pitiful. Red had me by the shoulders and flung me to the floor. He came down with me at the perfect angle, I hit the floor hard and swung my feet up to catch his midsection, launching his body over mine using his own momentum and my hands as guides to make it work. He hit the ground with a much more satisfying thud than I had. I scrambled to my feet, but fell over on legs that were too shaky from being over exerted. I shoved my self up and pulled my self to a sitting position on Red's chest as he regained the breath I had lost him. There was clapping from behind us, some of the guys from the team stood on the edge of the mat.

They looked from Red to me and back again. "You weren't kiddin."

Red grinned, " I told ya she could fight," he sat up rolling me back on to the mat where I was content to lay there. Someone chuckled and I didn't see who it was as I sat up shaking my head. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and let it drag on the floor, but no one was suitably impressed until Red grabbed the braid from me and removed the sharp spikes from it.

" A proper lady never goes any where with out a suitable guard." Red shook the end of my braid at them to emphasize his words.

I just rolled my eyes as the men nudged each other and winked.

" Beat it" I growled playfully. " I gotta hit the showers."

The guys whistled and made cat calls, I just grinned as I stood up with Red already smiling down at me. We headed toward the locker room and someone made a lewd comment. Red tuned around with a dark look on his face. I kept walking. And everyone shut up, knowing they had gone too far. I did a count down in my head. 3.…2.…1...

" Your just jealous!" Red grinned and came after me. The laughter of the men followed us out of the room. Red showered since he had brought clean cloths, I just toweled the sweat off my body since I would shower in my room in a bit. Red came out of the shower in a pair of baggy pants with water still dripping from his rich crimson skin. I think as I looked at him my brain shut down and my libido took over. I don't remember getting up, I blinked and the next thing I know I am with in breathing distance of that warm wet skin. It took all my will power and them some not to lick that water off of him.

Red looked at me with a cocky grin, " see something ya like Kitty?"

I shrugged and lazily looked him over. " Well I guess your not too bad." I flicked a drop of water off of his stomach and watched him as I slowly licked it off of my hand. And with the restraint of a saint I grinned, turned and walked away…

And arm shot around my waist scooping me up. "Hey I wasn't done." Red turned me around in his arm grinning, but there was heat in his eyes.

I managed to cross my arms and look indignant if that is at all possible while being held like a child. I felt rather foolish as I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yes?" I asked.

Red shook his head and smiled. " Thanks," his kissed my forhead.

I frowned, " For what?"

"I needed something to fight me back."

I grinned a bit. " I thought so."

Red set me down, " now go shower, I'll see ya at dinner."

I trotted down the halls in the general direction of my room while trying to forget the press of his damp skin against mine. I settled for a freezing shower to remove his skin from mine and maybe to keep my brain from boiling out my ears. And when I was shivering, scrubbed clean and too numb to thing of anything, I put on a pair of ratty jeans, a shirt; and padded bare foot to the mess hall. Red was the center of attention with his pack of groupies, but they made room for me when I joined them at the table. I pushed and shoved good naturedly and stole a hamburger from the dwindling pile in front of Red.

We bantered and told dirty jokes and generally had a good time until someone asked, " What's the hardest part of the job for you?"

" The dreams." I answered with out thinking. And for a moment I saw haunted looks in some of their eyes and I knew I wasn't alone.

One of the older guys spoke up, " It's hard not to become the things you hate." I shivered and knew exactly how he felt too.

Red had been quiet the threw this little heart to heart. " It doesn't matter how hard you try and how much you want, people will still think your as much of a monster as what you kill to save them."

(Now don't that make life a bitch) I tried to cheer every one up a bit. " Come on Red, just because you're a mean bastard, it doesn't make you a monster." I smacked him on the back. " First round is me!"

The guys cheered and Red grinned. And thus food and drink ensued long in to the night, thankfully no one noticed that I stopped drinking early on. I wasn't liking the dreams I was getting with the consumption of alcohol. I figured the dreams would be real enough with out the help of drink. Night mares are bastards when you have a wicked imagination.. I smiled at Red and the guys and shared in the stories and the boasting and only a little of the beer and so the night wore on


	16. little chat

Hello my darlings, yes I know it has been too long and I am sorry for the long wait, but things are rough on this end and not getting any better. And as THEY say, there is no rest for the wicked so I am properly doomed.

Cheers SF

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As usual sleep was fast in coming and short in staying as dreams prowled threw my unprotected mind. The dream began much the same, with me in my coat of blood and bone. The monsters are around me, accept now human shaped creatures covered in feathers moved quietly among them. I shook my head and feathers fell from my hair along with splatters of blood. There was no shadowed form in the corner, just dozens of children screaming, or crying out for help in some pitiful way. I tried to go to them, but they only screamed louder. I was a monster to them, just like every thing else.

I woke up crying, my chest aching from the sops I hadn't used. I blinked awake in the sterile room where no true darkness came, just a dark gray, no shadows hiding in the corners. No one sitting on the end of the bed to comfort me. I was alone and didn't want to be. So down the halls I wandered and saw a light on in the mess hall..

An older man in desert fatigues sat alone at a table drinking coffee. I was surprised since it was the shady side of 4 AM. All sane people should still be asleep. He looked up while I stood in the door way unsure of what to do. He smiled and gestured to the coffee maker. " Just made a fresh pot if ya' want some."

I nodded still a little unsure, and pored my self a steaming cup, black as pitch and sweet as sin. I sat down across from him. " are many people up this early around here?" I asked blowing on my coffee.

He shook his head, " only the skeleton crew and a couple of others." He looked at me. "How 'bout you. Always up this early?"

It was my turn to shake my head, " not usually, I just don't sleep well anymore."

He nodded, " It happens a lot that way, Is it a case getting to you, or just general stuff.?"

I contemplated my coffee, " its never just a case, and general doesn't really cover it."

He saluted me with his mug, " it never does." He smiled again. " the names Art, I retired from secret service and stuck here until they figure out where I will be the most useful or tucked away in some quiet corner where they can forget about me." he chuckled a bit, " as long as I don't cause too much trouble."

I smiled at him. " Cat, I work with Hellboy."

Arts eyes sparked up with a shrewd interest, " So you are the Cat who has taken on the infamous Hellboy. I had herd some stories, but I didn't believe most of them."

"Good" I nodded, looking at him over the rim of my mug. " They are all lies anyway."

"Maybe not", Art countered.

I shrugged again, "There are lots of stories, and not so many truths."

He steepled his fingers, " Tell me a truth then."

I thought for a moment, wondering if he was making polite conversation or if he was really interested; and if that was the case, what the hell for? So I decided on a small truth fairly well known.

" I met Red around the time I was 16 or so, back when I was a street kid. Or a child of the Dark. He killed a real monster that night and I was so afraid of him, I thought he would kill me too. But he didn't, and now I am here."

" You're a survivor then," Art stated. " And a fighter too from what I hear."

I sighed, " sometimes weakness is never and option."

He studied me in an unsettling way, " No, weakness isn't an option," the odd look disappeared. "Especially when people see what you are compared too."

I smiled a bit, " Yeah, Im part of the freak squad, I have to live up to my reputation."

"Here's to that !" Art saluted me with his mug.

I raised my cup as well, " cheers." I downed what was left of my coffee, stood up and stretched. " Well mate, Im gonna go see if sleep will give me a second chance."

And while sleep didn't mind me coming, the dreams just wouldn't let me be.

By the time that proper morning rolled around, I was in a rather pissy mood to say the least. Red tried to joke me out of it, but I gave him a dark look and had another cup of coffee.

"Come on Cat, what's eating you?"

I almost snorted coffee out my nose, how could it not be obvious. " My dreams." I glared at Red. " My dreams are eating me, little by little they kill me."

Red slung an arm over my shoulders, " We'll get out of here soon Cat. Then I'll keep the dreams away."

I shrugged, if we didn't find the twins and the real kids, I wasn't sure if it mattered this time. I would stay until I killed the crying whore who was making me hear the screams.


	17. off to see the monster

Hello my mates, here is the next installment in the Cat and Hellboy universe hope you like it..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought about my dreams, all blood and fear, not so much hate anymore, but the sadness could break your heart, well if you had a heart left to break that is. I thought about the pitiful feathered beings who weren't really monsters at all, just a means to an end. Random bits of memory crawled in to my head picking at the fragmented images left by the nightmares.

Someone was trying to talk to me, but I moved away. There was something about the last dream.. Yes there was blood and screaming, but something else. The chupacabras were trying to sooth the children as they cringed away from me. I was on a platform. I was the goddess, I was the Red woman. Blood called to blood, and I was.

I started laughing, sort of a snort of air at first, and then full blown hysterical laughter. I knew where she was! The memories, mine or not, had been given to me to use as I saw fit. If I had been able to look in a mirror I would have seen death looking out from my eyes.

When I properly came back to myself I was smiling like a mad bastard, but it didn't matter. I could find her, they had left clues in my dreams. The evil look on my face must have scared the men, cause they all backed up, all but Red.

" Cat, what's up?"

" Lock and load boys," I fished a cigar stub out of Reds coat pocket. I pulled the stub between my teeth and grinned. " Lets go kill some monsters!"

Red grinned, " Boy Kitty, you sure know how to show a man a good time." He thwacked me on the back and then the fun began.

We loaded up on weapons and psyched ourselves out. Red gave a pep talk to his groupies and I quietly checked my knives. We were getting dropped in by plane, so life was fixing to get really interesting . I had the general idea down, but I had never under stood the reasoning behind jumping out of a perfectly good plane Yet jump I would and I would probably go first if Red would let me. Yep that's me, always first in line to do what ever scares me the most. Just get it the hell over with, because (really) what's the point in prolonging the torture. Then it was time to go, I had given the coordinates to the head boys earlier to make life easier. The trained crew loaded us on to the plane, strapped us in to the appropriate bondage gear and off we went.

You could tell Red was in kill mode, but then so was I. We may have been scaring the rest, but there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it. I shut my eyes to block out my thoughts, but it only proved to rocket me back to my dreams of blood, bone, monsters and screaming children. Damn, best keep my eyes open then. I can't cry here, and if I did, I think I would cry tears of blood. Please Gods, no more dreams, I promise to be good…

The idea of flights is a grand notion, but it doesn't mean that I like it. The rip cords are in hand, and if I believed in a specific god, I would be praying to him now. But my beliefs are as shady as the tunnels I grew to women hood in. Red launched himself from the plane with no thought, as only a near immortal can. Me, who would splatter upon impact was right behind him. The rest of the crew trailed behind us in a semblance of a line. I knew they were all having a blast. I had, had better days.

The ground rushed up to met us and the impact was not so giving as it might have been, lucky me I know how to tuck and roll. Red laughed as I uttered masses of profanity, flipping knives from sheaths, slicing cords in my haste to be away from anything that could remind me of jumping from a damn plane.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Red laughed, he was in a good mood. He had a decent crew, even if they were still green as fresh binding. He also had a target and that's what he liked best. He was good as special ops' and a one man demolition team. Strait forward was the method he liked best, so today was just about right.

Watching Cat fight with her parachute after landing had provided some much needed comedy relief for every one and it helped them believe that even Cat could have a normal fear. It made her more human. Red snorted, in the real world Cat was just as much a freak as him. With all her brooding and dreams, she seemed even stranger to the guy's than Red. Red had turned in to one of the guys in that beer drinking, sports watching sort of way. Cat on the other hand had turned into an almost ethereal creature who displayed odd moments of humanity, just to throw everyone off.

Red shook his head to clear the errant thoughts. " Come on Boys." He grinned at his motley crew. "The nights not getting any younger."

Cat had shared her memories of the place with Red, so he knew the landscape as well as her. He didn't have to ask how she knew, because the answer would be as simple as blinking an eye and as complex as breathing. So as always, best left alone. Just as no one had to ask Red how he knew death was waiting for their arrival to let the fun begin. It was just understood.

Granted all any one had to do to see Death was look at Cat, she was doing a good job of not show her emotions to the men, but Red could see the heat in her eyes that had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with sharp metal and teeth. Red grinned, this was the Cat he knew well. There were things out tonight worse than a woman who cried tears of blood, He and Cat were only some of them.


	18. blood offering

Hey every one! Here's the next installment, which I wrote while highly jazzed on chocolate covered espresso beans , hope you like it J .-sf-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crew was spreading out thin to keep their options open. They had split of in to groups of twos, scattering over the dessert landscape. All they had to do now was find a way down, because (like every where) the true dark underbelly of the world was just under the sugar coated surface.

One of the crews called us in, They had found a possible entrance , just a hole in the ground, but that was all it had to be. I went down first since we didn't know if the hole would be big enough for Red once we got inside. But once in, the small slash opened up in to a decent sized tunnel and surprise, surprise; it angled down. The real surprise was that I was enjoying myself. And so was everyone else for the moment. I was back to being a child of the Dark, and I wasn't afraid. Red thumped down behind me. Their was something worse than monsters out tonight. Red grinned at me, predatory anticipation glinting in his smile. We were coming to play…

Red left most of the crew topside, because they didn't know nearly enough about what they were going into. The general idea was to get the kids out and do the monster bashing afterwards. So in theory a perfect plan . Funny how things never really worked out that way. The deeper they went, they quieter it got. No sounds penetrated the darkness from the world above, no light glinted from the muted weapons. The only thing that was off, was the smell. At first it was just a feint thing, nothing bad, just a figment of the imagination. But it became more obvious as they moved farther on. The subtle sent of raw meat.

Red looked at Cat who was slightly ahead of him, well he could almost see her in the non light. He had a sudden image of the Judas goat leading the sheep to slaughter. Shaking his head, Red dropped the imagery in desperate hopes that it wouldn't foreshadow the coming events.

There were shadows on the walls, which meant there was light ahead somewhere and that meant it was time to dance. Guns at the ready, blood singing through the veins, it there wasn't so much at stake, this would be just like being home. Accept this wasn't home and lives other than ours were going to be lost.

The cave was opening up more and light was becoming clearly visible. We were close, oh so close to the beginning and possibly the end of our search and evening. The meaty smell had permeated the air and given us warning of what to expect. It was not going to be pretty and we all knew it, and yet we still held hope for life. Sounds, feint at first and then stronger came to our ears. The Chupacabras were their and so was The Lady and only one child. Red and I stood in the shadows protected, for the moment, from the others sight.

The lady in white was sitting in a low chair with one of the not girls sitting at her feet. The girl's head rested on the women's lap as she stroked the girls hair. The women was talking to her softly.

"So beautiful and sweet my little girl as all my children. So beautiful and sweet and silent…."

A small group of Chupacabras stood by not huddling, but close enough. The women stood holding the not girl to her, and walked to the edge of a spring which I had failed to notice earlier. And by the way that Reds tale was twitching he hadn't seen it either. The child looked dazed. The Lady smiled and sat down, legs in the water.

" Do you want to help me make an offering to the Gods, my sweet daughter?" And quicker than a breath, the girl was in the water as the Lady in white, serene and beautiful, held her under to drowned.

Time for watching was over and the moment to act, none to soon. Red hurdled out of the shadows gun in hand, I was just behind. The first two shots took her square in the chest. The Lady fell back releasing her hold on the girl. The little deity got up, water dripping from her curls and grinning as no child could,

" Good timing," she laughed crawling out of the water.

Red and I looked at each other, it couldn't be that easy; and as it happened, it wasn't . The white women stood up and began to laugh. There was no blood from the bullet wounds on her chest, still only from her eyes.

She looked at me with amazing clarity, " come to me Bone Daughter, you seek to destroy me, so try."

Red grinned and so did I, together we jumped from the mouth of the tunnel in to the room. I traded my Glocs for knives and rose to meet her. Red yelled for back up threw his ear piece and began taking down monsters. The women in White stood still as a statue, crying as always with an expression as guiltless as a child's. I wanted to smash her face to a pulp and slice away her skin. The rage was so strong it scared me; I'm used to the battle lust, but not like this. My lust was always deathly cold, this was hot and passionate and nothing at all like me. So if the rage wasn't mine, who's was it. I shook my head. The Lady laughed, a slow melodic thing of knowledge and promise. the sort of laugh a lover would use, and it was directed at me…

All hell was breaking loose around me, but I only had eyes for her. Slowly something like a smile crept to my face, something nasty and full of teeth and the promise of pain. A look of anticipation crossed the women's features and her smile mirrored mine. So I did as she bade me, I went to her knives in hand; ready for what ever she threw at me. Accept what she did.. Nothing..

In the time it took my mind to register what had happened, I had already slit her throat and this time she bled. Large spurting gouts of blood covering my skin. The woman stood still as if nothing had happened and spoke as she should not have been able to with a severed larynx. " My name is Llalorna, now know me."

And everything that had been was gone and we were alone. I was on the ground and it was hot and damp and dark. Her power so thick that I thought I would drowned in it, while she, Llalorna was reveling in it.

In that moment I knew she was a goddess and I was nothing. How could I destroy a creature like her? She looked at me and smiled like and indulgent mother who's child was throwing a tantrum. I was that child again, alone in the dark with the monsters. Accept this time the monster was beautiful and so very much worse than any I had ever dreamed of. So I did the only thing I could do, I stood up from where I had fallen and faced her. My vision was blurry from the blood that was still in my eyes. I wiped at them with the back of my fist, I would not be weak in front of her. The beautiful women tilted her head and smiled, blood still pulsing from the gaping wound at her throat. With a flick of her wrist, my body was no longer my own and she lead me out of the dark like a puppet on a string. We hit the air and I realized we were on a platform and I was naked with only the knives in my hands. But at just that moment, I wasn't worried so much about cloths . My mind had shut down, my brain couldn't process what my eyes were seeing. I knew and yet it wouldn't register, the bodies were like little broken dolls and slowly it became real. An unmated strand of hair; a bit of rib, surprisingly white against the gore. Small cherubic features so sweet, as if sleeping, if only you didn't see the rest.

I wanted to scream, to fight, to kill her, and I could do nothing, so my mind began to take in other things. The platform on which we stood was a dais for a temple. Hoards of people were below, prostrating themselves and writhing in the blood that coated the steps all the way up to where we stood. I had a moment of Dorothy stepping out of her house in to OZ, " I don't think we are in Kansas any more Toto,"

I would have grinned or cried or something if I wasn't still being held immobile by the blood covered goddess. All I could see was her black hair as she stood on the edge of the dais naked and glorious to be worshiped by her followers. She raised her arms to them, blood dripping on to the already drenched stairs. She was a blood thirsty god to a blood thirsty people.

Her attention was away from me and I raged silently against her powerful hold. Her blood on my skin was hot, almost burning and the longer I fought against her, the more aware I became of that blood. The crowd was calling, loud and long for there goddess and they wanted blood, mine. A man in a jaguar pelt walked up the stares caring an obsidian blade and bludgeon made of some sort of bone. The man had black piercing eyes and liked like he enjoyed his job. Llalorna laughed ant me and released her hold. She was watching to see what I would do, and admittedly, this time it would be as she expected.

I held my knives firmly in my slick hands and let a lazy grin cross my face. " Come to me dead priest, for you are dead, you just can't feel it yet."

He hit me quicker than I thought as I danced back, but he got his bit of flesh. The obsidian blade was sharper than a dream and I barely felt its bite alone the skin of my belly. He stood tall and bronze and mocking in his loin cloth, for I had cut the stays on the jaguar pelt, which now lay quietly in the blood. I felt power around us, and it wanted death, it was insistent and didn't care who's blood was spilled. In a moment of clarity I knew myself. I shook my head with the knowledge and blood fell from my hair. Something stuck to my skin, a feather, from the chupacabras that had died. ( How long ago had it been, one, two days? It seemed like an eon ago that I had stood in the desert with Red and the crew.) I stood calmly as the priest raised his weapons to the sky, Theatrics at their finest. He knew I wasn't going anywhere, so he had all the time in the world to make a sacrifice fit for his goddess. ( Who by the way, was watching the proceeding with a look of interest on her face.)

'He thought I would be easy to take, I could see it in his expression. For was I not bloodied already; was I not just a mortal woman? If only that was true… The Jaguar priest came at me, fast and silent and deadly as his name sake, but I was quicker. I spun in close, inside his guard and before he could thrust his knife in to my back, I slid my blade between his third and forth ribs, piercing his heart…

A look of surprised wonder crossed his face as he dropped his knife and club. " Goddess," he whispered as blood frothed at his lips. For a moment he clung to me, and I held the dead priest close, closer than I had ever held a lover. This embrace of death was as intimate as a joining of our bodies would have been, and in a way, more so. His heart blood spilled over me, mingling with my blood and Llalorna's. It was a good death, the priest fell and I finished the ritual. I sliced under his ribs and cut out his heart.

The power was thick and hot and sated for the moment on blood not mine. I turned to face Llalorna , heart in hand. She was no longer smiling, actually she looked slightly annoyed. I tossed the heart to her and it landed at her feet, a proper offering to a goddess, I thought sarcastically.

" Now look what you have done, Bone girl. And still you must join him." She shook her head almost wistfully, " The Gods of War long to have a priestess like you. You sacrifice well to them."

I gave her a mocking bow and let my knife fall, for it would do me no good against her. She walked in a slow circle around me, missing none of my flaws. I faced her recalling my dreams of blood and bone, it seemed, it was coming true. There were monsters too, none like I had ever seen, huge lizard like beasts with rainbow scales and gleaming teeth and cold dead eyes. They had crawled from the dark entrance from which we had come not so vary long ago. Llalorna looked at me intently and made a scraping motion with her hand. I felt the pain immediately as a long gash opened up along my collar bone, she laughed and did it again. In the course of a few moments I was kneeling in an ever larger pool of my own blood. Llalorna stood over me smiling and I again felt as if I was nothing. But slowly I felt it again, the blood pulsing, it followed the rhythm set by my heart, pulsing from my multitude of wounds and pulsing along my skin. I herd something laughing quietly in my thoughts, _Good _it whispered,_ good._ It took me a moment to realize I was no longer bleeding, that I no longer hurt. All I had to do was let go, so for the first time in my life I gave in to the monsters, gave in to the dark. Yet the dark didn't want me, it shied away as I reached for it and something else came instead.


	19. changes

For a moment I was completely surprised, the darkness I had fought against for so long wouldn't take me. The cold darkness didn't want me after all these years, it wouldn't take me back.

I heard it again, that little voice flitting threw my head. " I'll have you," it whispered to my thoughts. A voice warm and powerful and deadly. I nodded, no one was looking at me anymore, I was not deemed a threat.. To bad for them I could feel the pressure of something. It was the being I had sacrificed to, and it gave me a little push.

" Blood daughter," it whispered, "Not Bone daughter," So I stood again. This time when La Lorna looked at me, she was disbelieving.

"Cant you die like you are supposed to," She hissed at me.

She was trying to force her power on me, but it didn't work this time, and I began to laugh. It was masculine and not wholly mine. The blood saturating my skin never hit the ground. The pool of blood that had been at my feet was now painting my legs a cherry red. I could see the blood on La Lorna's neck which had stopped flowing, and I called her blood to me. She didn't seem to know what was happening at first. And then I saw the first hint of fear in her eyes.

I smiled enjoying her fear and pulled harder, the gaping wound at her throat spilled like a waterfall of crimson.

"What are you!" she choked, as the tide spilled from her lips.

Casually I walked to stand directly in front of her. I raised my hand to her cheek, " Silly wife, you should know.. You gave her to me." I said in the voice had not been mine, and with that he left me leaving only the power behind. The heat and the lust had been his all along. The scorned women's husband, he had left her and she had drowned there children in retaliation and thus she had become cursed. But she was much older than that story let on. La Lorna had been just a women, this one was a god.

I was back in complete control of myself and I almost wish I wasn't. Her eyes held more than fear now and I could feel nothing but hate for her. I looked at the children's broken bodies that still lay like so much offal and I could the terror of there deaths and the sound of there screams. So with all the strength I had I shoved everything in to her. The power road down upon her, filling her fast, and splitting her skin. Only then did she begin to scream and still I held on. I gripped her throat with my god ridden hands, bringing my face close to hers.

" I am what you wanted to be, so know me." And I pulled.

Guess I didn't know my own strength, I was so intent on killing her I didn't care how. I blinked and it was over. That perfect body, now so much meat, the blood and gore seemed so natural amidst the rest. I think I was in shock, the blood on my skin still lived and pulsed. The creatures of teeth and scale crawled towards me, such things no longer scared me. What worried me more were the men, more priests in Jaguar skins climbing the steps to me. I didn't move as they reverently caressed the remains of there old goddess, nor did I move as they began collecting the blood in a shallow bronze bowl.

The monsters were now huddled around me as the priests finally turned there attention to me. Slowly, one by one, they knelt before me. It clicked then somewhere in my mind, I was there goddess, and now I was the monster and this sure as hell wasn't a dream. I could feel the scream building inside me, one that would rip me asunder. If I let it out I knew that I too would scream until I died. So I turned and fled back in to the darkness where I could hide from what I had done. My mind was trying to protect me, telling me that if I ran long enough and wished hard enough I could get back to Red. So I ran stumbling in darkness wearing only a suit of blood.

" Go back now Daughter, you did well." The silky voice whispered, and between one breath and the next I was. This time I lay where I fell as if the weight of the entire world held me down.

I heard voices, I heard screaming and gun fire and still I didn't move. Sometime later there were footsteps which abruptly stopped and I heard the familiar sound of guns being cocked .

" What the hell is it?" Someone asked.

" Is it alive, How can it still be alive?" came another voice.

I took all the strength I had left and turned my head to face them. I saw recognition spark in one mans eyes, followed by disbelief and terror, " Jesus Fucking Christ! Get Red down hear NOW!"

The other guy looked green, "Why?"

The first man blinked at him, " Because we found her..."

The kid went from green to white and began screaming in to his head set( guess I looked about as bad as I felt). The man who recognized me looked like he was about to be sick, but he was a good little soldier . He put away his gun and knelt beside me. " We're gonna' get you out of hear miss." he laid his jacket over me, I wanted to say thanks, but it wouldn't come out.

" No, no don't try and speak, help will be here soon."

I felt the ground shake as Red stormed in to the room like one of Death's furies. Yet he nearly crumpled to the floor when he saw me. Damn guess it really was bad.

Red's hand was in the air just above me as if he was afraid to touch me. " Cat," he whispered, "Oh god, Cat."

" Alive" I mouthed in a sad attempt of speaking. "Killed her," came out more like a croak which was marginally better. Slowly painfully I tried moving parts of my body. Now that I was no longer god ridden I could feel everything and I realized that I still had breath enough to scream. Red held me down as my body rebelled against me.

"Were any still alive?" I managed. Red nodded, " Three aside from the twins, we couldn't find the rest."

Tears began leaking from my eyes, " I saw," I croaked, " I saw them."

Red carefully picked me up, " Shhh, we knew there wasn't much hope." someone handed Red a blanket which he wrapped around me.

I smiled thinly, " Don't think I can walk this time."

Red just picked me up and carried me with out another word. I just shut my eyes and listened to his heart beat, thankful to what ever god would listen that there was no matching pulse along my skin. I opened my eyes when I felt wind on my face. It was a starry night with a million stars spiraling over head. Best of all there was no temple or monsters or Jaguar priests. It really doesn't take much to make me happy.

As usual after one of our fiascoes, there were lights and loud people and lots of heavily armed men. But this time there was no one cracking jokes and Red didn't put me down to walk the last bit of the way. And this time, I don't think I would have been able too .

It wasn't until we were on the plane back to base that any one relaxed. Red had set me down carefully and gone to confer with the rest of the crew. I shut my eyes and tried very hard to think about nothing at all. It barely registered that someone was sitting beside me. " Hey kid" a slightly familiar voice said.

I cracked a swollen eye, it was Art. I shut my eyes again. " Didn't know you were with the team."

" They decided my special skills were needed." He replied. " We dug up a coverall for you, if you can get in to it, that is."

I grunted, " Major blood loss and probably some broken ribs. Help me and I will manage." I opened my eyes fully this time. Art nodded and unfolded a very large pair of coveralls with lots of military insignia on them. He bunched them up, knelt in front of me and very professionally helped me get my feet in. The legs were the easy part, it was the rest that was hell. Of course it was about this time that Red made his appearance again.

" Who the Hell are you and what do you think you are doing!"

Art stood up and moved back making no fast moved, I couldn't help but think he was a very smart man.

" I am Art Rosenbaum, head of special forces and Tactical Maneuvering." He almost grinned. " and your liaison when you get back to base." He looked from Hellboy to me, " And I thought Cat might be more comfortable in cloths that a bloody blanket."

I looked down at said blanket and it was rather saturated. Red's tale was lashing back and forth, for some reason he was really pissed and I had no energy or strength to deal with it. " Red" I mumbled, he looked at me, " Shut up and help him, I cant..." And with that Red shut up and helped. He knew how much saying those words cost me. Carefully, gently he picked me up as Art helped me dress. Slowly, painfully I eased my arms into the sleeves as Red zipped me up. The coveralls swallowed me, and were some what scratchy, but that was probably just the drying blood.

Red looked down at me as he spoke to Art, " you can go now." Though the tone allowed no room for opposition. Art nodded and headed for the front of the plane, " you had best get her some mirrored shades too." he spoke over his shoulder.

This brought me out of my haze of pain for a moment, " what's wrong with my eye's?"

Red didn't say anything for a minute, " Your eyes are red, no retina, no iris, just red."

" Like rubies, like blood" I whispered back. I really wished it could be a joke, but from the look on Red's face the joke was on me. A parting gift from a god with a since of humor. " Blood Daughter," I whispered again and shut my eyes for the duration of the journey.

Back at base I got bundled off to the med lab and mercifully left out of the debriefing. Red gave the story I had given him, which was bare bones, but true none the less. In the lab, the Doctors took one look at me, stripped me down and did a full body scan and began systematically patching me up. I didn't have any broken bones much to my surprise. But there were a lot of lesions on my bones that couldn't be properly explained, like some one had cut me deep enough to grate against my ribs. Accept very few of my wounds were deep enough for the damage that was caused to my body. Blood loss accounted for most of my weakness. The doc's were baffled at the multitude of cuts all over my body and how none of there were bleeding, though some still required attention in the form of the burning adhesive gel. It struck me as funny how I was not in this position so very long ago.

So again I was laid out on a table. ( they had been nice enough to put a sheet down first.) Covered in blood, ( considerably more than last time) and I couldn't muster up the strength to complain about the pain. A specialist had looked at my eyes and couldn't find anything physically wrong with them. As at first it was assumed mass amounts of trauma had caused the complete red out of my eyes. So they could come up with no explanation for the current unnatural color of my eyes.

Thus with as much medical technology s they could throw at me, it was decided that I needed to be left alone to rest. After giving me a pain killer of horse choker proportions and stuck an iv drip in my arm, I was left alone in the simi- dark, quiet room, cause it was decided that sleep was the best medicine. I still looked and felt like death warmed over, but hey a girl cant complain, I was warm and probably moderately safe. This was a military base after all, I didn't so much sleep as loose consciousness form time to time. People would walk in and out of the room on odd occasions, some brought cleaning astringents and sterile gauze to clean me up a bit. Others came in to take pictures, I didn't like that, but was still to tired and out of it to do anything about it. At some later time I woke up to feel something pressed against my lips, a straw,

" You need to hydrate" a soft voice said. So I drank and was then immediately and violently ill, I managed to lift myself up on my elbows and heave the contents of my stomach into a can left specifically for that purpose. I saw what I had purged and became nauseous. I saw blood and thicker things with stark clarity before hands took the can away.

" now drink again," I looked up, it was Art, holding the cup of water. I washed my mouth out, spat and sipped again, this time it stayed.

Art smiled, " that's better, how are you feeling?"

I let out a weak snort, " Alive," Art grinned " Good, you have been asleep for about two days,"

It felt like a few hours to me, but then what do I know? I looked around the little sterile room and shivered, " Where's Red?" I asked. Art smiled again and stood up, " I'll go get him."

Once again alone I took stock of myself, no more IV drip, that's a good thing. Still feel like I have been hit by a Mac Truck, which is not necessarily as bad as it could be, pain means that everything is still working, and hopefully there is minimal nerve damage. I began to feel the vibrations of someone moving down the hall, and I smiled, I know those thundering foot steps anywhere. I could feel myself relaxing already, strange that he always had that effect on me. I expected him to come barreling threw the door, but he didn't, it was a more subdued peak around the corner before actually coming in to the room.

I managed to sit up, and pull the blanket around me, not really out of modesty but more to distract from the new scars that were so freshly forming. " Hey Red," was about all I could manage with a big grin on my face.

He began to smile back, " Hey Cat," He moved to sit in the swivel chair next to the table, " how you feeling?"

I laughed in the painful way, " Like I tried to fight a god and they kicked my ass."

Hellboy grinned, " Looks about right. Feeling up to clothing and giving up your honorary lab rat position?"

From behind his back he pulled out a pair of BDU's and a black shirt.

" Oh dear god I love you Red." I grinned and reached for the cloths. But stopped short as my body protested the movement.

Red's look softened and he moved closer to drop the pile on the bed for easier access. It took me a bit, but with a few choice words I managed to get in to the shirt. I swung my legs over the side of the bed looked at Hellboy and wiggled my toes expectantly, " Gonna help me or what," I didn't think that bending over to put on pants was going to be part of my routine again for at least a few days, considering I was still moving with the speed and dexterity of a comatosed sloth. And with out a snide comment or anything he helped me get in to the pants, right on time too. Cause as soon as I finished buttoning them the twins came in.

They looked at me and smiled, simple little girls, nothing strange about them all at all, riiiight.. But as they were on base and being followed around by a rather haggard looking, low ranking officer who obviously got the short straw this week. The girls were acting like girls and not like anything else. One solemn one giggling as always. " We wouldn't leave till you were awake," The walked closer to look at me, " did you learn, did you see?"

I cocked my head, " Learn what?"

"About yourself silly! Bone daughter, Blood daughter," they chorused " did you see?"

I nodded slowly, leaning against Red, of course there would be more to it, sometimes I am just a bit too slow to catch on. " My eyes, that's part of it right." \

The girls nodded, " blood and bone, life and death. you see it, you call it, it knows you as kin."

I shake my head, " I don't understand."

The solemn one spoke alone this time. " Don't worry, you don't have to, someone else will explain more later." Then with little more than childish whim they bounced out of the room the poor man following behind them.

" Well that was strange and totally unhelpful." Red said hugging me gently.

I snorted. " yeah, no lie. Can we go home now?" I was tired of gods, and monsters and wondering if I was both or neither. Back in New York at least I knew where I stood. Out hear in the hot desert lands I didn't know much of anything any more.

Red grinned and nodded, " yeah that's my other news , once you feel up to it we can blow this taco stand."

I smiled up at him, "Two hours?" I asked hopefully. Red shook his head , " Make it five, you still have to get a proper debrief and fill out all the requisite paper work."

I groaned. " Okay fine, five hours. then Plane, then Home, then food and real sleep in a real bed."

Red nodded, " agreed, now lets get it done!" But before I could do anything, He picked me up bringing me to face level. And I wrapped my arms around his neck. " You scared me, I thought I had lost you." he said quietly and seriously.

I thought about the things that I had done that night in the cave, in the other world. How I was all but certain that I wouldn't actually be able to get back that I would in fact die never seeing Hellboy again. And that was just something that I couldn't handle. " I thought I had lost you too. I don't ever want that to happen again."

Red just looked at me, " Okay," a grin started to spread .

And for some reason I was smiling too, " Okay," For some reason it felt like we had said so much more. But that could wait till later. Now it was time to fill out paper work and listen to some droll bastard talk about post traumatic shock syndrome and all that jazz. And then we could go home.


End file.
